Epilogue two-point-five - Summer of Fun
by The White Guardian
Summary: A short story sandwiched in between Epilogue 2 and 3. After the great evil had been defeated, our heroes wanted a well-deserved break, and they will get just that. Join them as they relax, explore, but mostly, have fun. Contains spoilers for Epilogue 1, one-point-five and 2.
1. A good start?

**Alright, so the Epilogue series was supposed to be on hold for a while...**

 **...nevermind, I'm back! After the ending of Epilouge 2, I noticed how much potential there was for another short installment in the series to answer some questions. Plus, fluff and Photon cuteness!**

 **Also, if there's anyone who would like one of their OC's to make another appeareance, give me a shout and I'll try to give them some screen time.**

 **Anyhow, let me reply to the reviews of the last chapter of Epilogue 2.**

 **Reviews:**

 **john walaszek1: "** ** _I wonder what the third story would be like. Now that the Lylat System is safe, Fox is reunited with his family and has Krystal back. Ratchet and Angela finally go home and the team goes their separate ways._ "  
Well, the third story will be set in the Sonic universe. It won't feature Ratchet & Clank and Star Fox, but all of the storylines will come together in Epilogue 4 for an incredible finale. Fox isn't truly reuinited with his family, we only saw a glimpse of what everyone believed to be James, and Fox' mother was killed. But, what happened to James? Needless to say I'll be adressing that as well in this story... eventually. And the team doesn't truly go their separate ways, they're friends, so... who knows, perhaps we'll see some of them appear in this story. Anyhow, I'm really hoping you see this story, if you do, I hope you'll enjoy!**

 **Destiny W: "** ** _This was a great ending, I can't wait for the next story. :)_ "  
Well, wait no more, I'm back! Enjoy!**

 **Max Chronicle: "** ** _(As a bonus: my review brings your story to 100 reviews. Way to go, TWG!)  
Fantastic ending... Clank stays at the Clock. (And his mother and father are together) Dude, that's like... TOTAL SHIZZY FEELS! PERHAPS SPIZZY!  
Plus, there's more. Angela finally gets reunited with her parents. Now here's a real question, "Whose parents are cooler: Ratchet's or Angela's." (I don't know, but here's what I do know... they're going to be really cool GRANDparents.)  
Then, in turn to Fox and Krystal, each and every OC, and finally, Simon, Photon and Alcyone (with Ratchet and Angela jumping in at the last second)  
Hope to see more from the future. Good luck.  
Max out._"  
(Thanks!) Yeah, I didn't like how Clank's mother was never heard from again, and then I got this idea. It seems that putting that part in was a brilliant idea, I'm really glad you like it! And I don't know whose parents are cooler, but them becoming grandparents? We'll just have to see about that, I suppose. And yes, you'll hear more from them! Oh, you definitely will! How I can possibly know? Well, I don't suppose I'll need Travel The Days to know for certain, haha! Enjoy!**

 **Jadzia Ezri Dax: "** ** _Thank goodness Black Hole, that asshole was annoying and I am glad that he was killed off. No, seriously. I normally don't like people dying, but that guy really deserved it. And I'm glad Clank is alright, too.  
P. S. I'm glad you don't mind my name changing, that's really kind.  
P. S. S. I never played Skyrim before, but I do know a bit about it, but I'll see if I can do some more research and make my OC fit in better.  
P. S. S. S. There's a reason I don't have an account on this website or DeviantArt. Simply, I'm afraid of stalkers. I make sure not to give out information that can be dangerous. And even though I did say some about my sister, it wasn't enough for anyone to know much about me. But we could probably contact each other on YouTube, seeing as I don't have Skype or Gmail. I'll see if I can contact you there.  
P. S. S. S. S. As for my OC, I'll see if I can modify her some more to fit in better.  
_** ** _I think can now contact you through YouTube, I have an account now. Also, I'll see if I can update you through there about my newer version of my OC.  
P. S. My family and I are going on vacation tomorrow, so I won't be able to contact you right away. We'll be back soon. And I told my sister you said hi to her.  
P. S. S. Live long and prosper! (Yes, yes, quote from Star Trek. I'm a Star Trek fan. :) )_"  
Well, I can't agree more, it's strange, hating your own OC. I actually made a Mii of him on my 3DS just so I can beat him up in Smash. Not hard, actually, all I need to do is jump off the stage, wait for him to jump after me then slam-dunk his sorry behind as Ike. Needless to say, I love kicking his behind in Smash. Anyhow, I couldn't let _Clank_ out of all people die! Nah, Clanky will be alright!  
P.S. Being kind is who I want to be, so mission accomplished then!  
P.S.S. Skyrim is incredible! If you plan on getting it though, wait for a moment. There's a remake coming, for PS4 as well, and it looks amazing! Skyrim is one of the most beautiful games of all time!  
P.S.S.S Alright, then.  
P.S.S.S.S Alright, then.  
P.S. Alright, have fun!  
P.S.S. Thanks, same to you!  
**

 **Alright, looks like we're good to go!**

* * *

Simon yawned as he walked into the kitchen. He was still half-asleep as he made himself a cup of coffee. He heard a noise behind him, and when he turned around, he saw Photon. The cat was shaking his head, eyes still half closed. In his drowsiness, Photon almost hit his head against the table by accident, he would've hurt himself if Simon hadn't interfered. Simon stared at his cup of coffee, then at Photon. He grabbed the cup and placed it down in front of Photon.

"You take this one, pal, you need it more than I do."

Photon tapped his nose against Simon's cheek (meaning 'thank you') before he began to drink. As Simon got up, Alcyone came walking in. Her hair was a mess, Simon assumed she'd just gotten out of bed. His theory was proven correct when she, too, nearly walked into something, barely missing it thanks to Simon. "Yikes, you too?"

"What?" she asked.

"Still half-sleeping. I thought I had it bad, but then you and Photon came in."

"Uuh... who was Photon again?"

"That's what I mean." Simon said, shaking his head. "Coffee?"

"Hmm... never tried that before, what's it like?"

"A bit bitter but gives a lot of energy and helps people wake up in some cases."

"Well, I suppose I'm more of a tea person then." she said.

"Tea it is then." Simon said. "Thankfully I know just the right flavour for this situation, it's a little experiment of mine of what would happen if I'd make tea with extract from Nocturnus leaves, but with the whole formula reversed."

"Nocturnus leaves?"

"Yeah, they contain Melatonin, a substance found in various organic lifeforms that helps the body synchronize with the day-night cycle of the planet it's on. In short: it helps falling asleep, and thus, the Nocturnus tea helps with falling asleep. The 'reversed' Nocturnus tea, however, has the opposite effect, as well as having a nice, sweet taste." Simon said as he made Alcyone a cup of tea. "Mind if I take a cup of tea as well? Some cat stole my coffee." Simon said, staring at Photon with a playful smile.

Photon tilted his head and stuck out his tongue. Alcyone burst out laughing. "You two are like brothers sometimes."

"Well, Photon is like a brother to me, so that's okay, I suppose." Simon said as he knelt down and stroked Photon's ear, getting a thankful purr in response.

Alcyone chuckled. "Cute."

Photon finished drinking the coffee and tilted his head, trying to give Alcyone a look that said 'really?', but with the coffee on his muzzle, he only looked cuter.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the house, two other people were waking up. "Good morning." Ratchet mumbled as he saw his love's eyes open.

"Good morning." She replied.

"So... what shall we do today?" he asked.

"Dunno." Angela replied. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."

"Well, as long as I'm with you, everything is fine with me."

Angela laughed and snuggled up to him. "I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." he replied. "Always have, always will."

Twenty minutes later they walked into the kitchen, hand in hand. Alcyone was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal. She looked up from her breakfast when she heard footsteps. "Good morning!" she said as she saw the two Lombaxes. They greeted her back.

Meanwhile Simon was hard at work in his lab, puzzling and calculating how he could give Photon the ability to speak. Said cat was lying on the couch behind him, asleep. "Lazybones." Simon mumbled with a smile. After a while he had come up with a pretty good plan, and he began to build.

* * *

Photon slowly woke up. The cat jumped a bit when he noticed Simon staring at him. He then noticed that he was in a glass tube of some sorts... that was filled with water. Photon never really needed oxygen to live, but it still made him wonder why he was in a glass tube filled with water.

Simon pressed a button on a control panel next to him, and the water was pumped out. The glass tube opened up, and Photon hopped out, tilting his head in confusion.

"Alright, the process should be finished. Photon, say something."

Photon's eyes widened. He opened his mouth, but made no sound. Simon frowned. "You don't know how to speak, do you?"

Photon shook his head. Simon nodded, and Final Eclipse formed in his hands. He raised his hand, and Photon's body began to move on it's own. Suddenly Photon realized what Simon was trying to do, and let his friend work. Simon took control over Photon's body and attempted to force it to make a sound.

And it worked too. Sort of.

"Mreow!"

Simon let Photon retake control. Photon, now knowing what to do, tried it himself.

"Meow!"

"Well... it's a start." Simon said. "I'll just have to teach you to speak."

Photon rubbed his cheek against Simon's leg, meaning 'thank you for trying.'

Simon laughed and pet the cat. "Come on, let's go see what the others have been up to."

Photon jumped onto Simon's shoulders, and Simon walked out of his lab. He met Alcyone, Angela and Ratchet in the kitchen. Ratchet and Angela were eating breakfast, and they were having a conversation with Alcyone about her, and what she used to do.

"So, you were hailed as a goddess on Cerinia after protecting a Cerinian town from a volcano eruption?"

"Yep." Alcyone replied. "But, eh... I'd rather not talk about my past."

"Why not?"

"It's... complicated. Anyhow, I believe we have company?" Alcyone said, noticing Ratchet staring at something behind her.

"Correct." Simon said as he walked in.

Photon was sitting on Simon's shoulders. He waved at the three people sitting at the table. Angela waved back. "Morning, Photon." Ratchet said.

"So, what are you three going to do today?" Simon asked.

"No idea." Ratchet replied.

"May I make a suggestion?" Simon asked.

"Well, of course!"

"Well, I've transformed one of the rooms into a home cinema, we could go watch a movie together."

"Sounds like a plan." Angela said.

"Yeah, sounds fun!" Alcyone said.

"Alright then. Follow me." Simon said.

* * *

As they were watching the movie, Simon wasn't paying attention. The small home cinema had two rows of four seats. Ratchet and Angela were sitting in the back, and Simon and Alcyone were sitting in the front row, Photon sitting on a seat to Simon's right.

Something was bothering Simon though. " _I'll have to ask her about it later._ " he thought. As he snapped out of his thoughts however, he noticed something about his left hand. Alcyone hadn't been paying attention and had lay her hand on top of his. For a moment Simon thought about pointing it out before realizing that it wasn't worth it. He shook his head and enjoyed the rest of the movie.

After the movie, as they left the room, Simon grabbed Alcyone's arm. She turned around. "What's wrong?"

"There's something I'd like to show you." he said.

-LINE HERE-

"Wow, what is this place?" Alcyone asked as she walked into a huge room made of white tiles.

Simon didn't respond. "Simon?" she asked, turning around.

The door through which she had entered was gone. "Don't worry." Simon's voice came out of nowhere. "You're in the holographical training chamber. I brought you here because I wanted to see how well you can fight with your staff."

Alcyone frowned. "Uh... Do-do you really need to know?"

"If you want to keep going on adventures with me and Photon, I need to know exactly what you can and cannot do so I can make the best plans of attack."

A large hologram of a robot formed in front of Alcyone, and the room disappeared, turning into a battleground amongst the stars.

Alcyone's staff formed in her hands. "Oh... okay..."

She took a deep breath and charged at the robot. The robot merely stepped aside and brought his hand down on her. The robot vanished the second it touched her.

Simon teleported in. "Hmm. I was already afraid of that."

He helped Alcyone get up. "I need to teach you how to fight with that staff better. Allow me to give a demonstration. Photon?"

A whole army of robots formed all around them. "Aww, really?" Simon said.

Some assault helicopters formed above the robots as well. "That's more like it." Simon said.

"Are you _insane_?" Alcyone said.

Simon laughed, and Final Eclipse formed in his hands. He charged forward as the robots closed in on them. He began to run around Alcyone in circles, faster and faster, until Final Eclipse took over and a hurricane began to form. Suddenly, Simon stopped, and the built up energy was released in the form of a massive blast of air that sent the helicopters spinning out of control. Some of the helicopters slammed into the army below, taking out large amounts of enemies. The surviving helicopters fired a barrage of bullets, some of them at Simon and other at Alcyone. Simon jumped in front of her and raised Final Eclipse. A shield formed around them that deflected the projectiles.

Simon charged at the nearest robot and cut it in half with one slice of his sword. He jumped several feet into the sky, landing on another robot while pointing Final Eclipse downwards, destroying the circuitry in the head. He jumped from robot to robot, until he tried a different technique to win time. He shot forward whilst pointing Final Eclipse towards a robot, and ended up circling around it. He jumped off the robot and performed a spin attack. Final Eclipse's power extending the blade in the form of a wave of energy following the motion of the blade, resulting in massive destruction.

Simon ran at a robot and jumped against it. Wall-jumping, he jumped high enough to come down with quite a lot of speed, and slammed Final Eclipse into the ground, generating a massive shockwave that sent everything flying.

The remaining robots soon recovered though. Simon ran to Alcyone. "THAT is how you fight with light weapons, allow them to enhance your power. But, that's not all they can." Simon said as he tightened his grip. He pointed his sword at the nearest enemy. "FIRE!"

A blast of fire shot out of the tip of the sword, incinerating the robot.

"But that's just the basics." Simon said. "Watch what happens when I release Final Eclipse's full power!"

Simon jumped into the air. "TIMESTORM!" he yelled, and suddenly, he was gone. Instead, thousands of Simons began to appear everywhere, each performing an attack before vanishing. This lasted for a full minute, and when Simon reappeared in front of Alcyone, no enemy was still standing.

"Photon?" Simon asked, and immediately the army was back on their feet.

"Now, could you give me your staff?" Simon asked. Alcyone did as she was told, and gave Simon her staff. "What's it's name?" Simon asked.

"Dawnbringer." She replied.

"Alright." Simon said as he concentrated. Suddenly, he charged forward with an incredible speed. He slammed the staff into the ground, causing a massive shockwave with the power of ice. The nearest enemies froze. Simon slammed the staff into the ground a second time, causing a massive earthquake that sent everything flying. It also shattered the frozen robots, sending sharp spikes of ice flying everywhere.

A robot attempted to attack Alcyone from behind, and she found out just in time. But so did Simon.

Before the robot could even move a finger, Simon was standing in front of her and stabbed the robot with the staff. The helicopters opened fire on him, but Simon began to spin the staff at a very rapid pace, deflecting the bullets. "This is an old Lombax fighting trick." He said to Alcyone as he deflected the rain of fire, instead sending it flying at the robotic army.

The moment the helicopters had to reload, he charged forward and dealt blow after blow with the staff before sending the robot flying with a powerful kick, for which he borrowed some power from the staff.

"And now, the staff's true power!" Simon said as he began to fly up. He merely raised the staff and huge pillars of light shot out of the ground everywhere with enough power to make the room tremble. It completely obliterated the enemy.

"Photon?"

And the army was back. Simon laughed. "This is one of my favorites. Watch."

Several huge gears of golden energy formed around Simon. The gears started to spin very rapidly and formed and vanished at various angles. Add to that, huge blasts of pure ice shot out of the staff, bombarding everything. When Simon landed, everything had been obliterated.

Alcyone was just standing there, staring at him. "Wow..." she whispered.

Simon laughed. "Relax, I'll teach you how to fight."

He gave Alcyone her staff. "One enemy please, Photon."

One robot appeared. Simon placed his hands over Alcyone's. "Alright, so when your enemy attacks..."

* * *

Ratchet sighed as he stepped out the door, onto the balcony of the room he shared with Angela. Said female Lombax was sitting outside, reading a book. "Hey." Ratchet said as he sat down next to her.

Angela looked up from her book. "Hey."

She noticed something. "Why is your fur damp?"

"I took a hot shower. I really needed that." Ratchet said.

"Yeah, my nose told me the same thing." Angela teased.

"Not funny!" Ratchet said, poking Angela's arm. Angela laughed.

"Well, I don't feel like giving you this anymore." Ratchet said, pretending to be offended as he showed her a lunch box.

"Huh? What do you have there?"

"Well, now you'll never know."

"Oh, come on, Ratchet."

"Apologize." Ratchet said, still pretending to be offended.

"Alright. I'm sorry, Ratchet."

"You've got to do better than that." Ratchet said with an evil grin.

Angela burst out laughing. "You were just asking for _this_!" She said as she kissed him on the cheek with a laugh. "Well, apologies accepted?" she asked.

"Hmm... _maybe_." Ratchet said. Angela laughed again, and they kissed. "I love you." She whispered. "I love you too." Ratchet said.

"Now... what did you have for me?" Angela asked out of curiosity as she closed her book.

Ratchet handed her the lunch box. "It's something from Simon's home planet. I think he called it 'apple pie'. Whatever apples may be."

"Well, it sure looks delicious." Angela said after opening the lunch box. Inside was, as Ratchet had said, a slice of apple pie as well as a small, silver spoon. The two Lombaxes began to eat.

"This tastes really good!" Angela said.

"I can't agree more." Ratchet said. "I suppose Simon's home world is no stranger to cooking."

Meanwhile Simon and Alcyone exited the holographical training chamber. "Sooo... how good am I?" Alcyone asked.

"You still have lots to learn, but you're getting the hang of it." Simon said. Then he smiled. "And I'm looking forward to teaching you again. You're a fast learner and a good listener."

"Why, thank you!" she said. "Sooo... what are you going to do now?"

"Well, laundry I suppose. I wasn't expecting visitors the last time I left this planet, so the last time I washed the beds it was with an older formula. However, I've developed a new one, and you'll see the effects for yourself this evening."

"Well... is there anything I can do?" she asked. "Because I don't really know anything to do."

"Well... do you mind playing with Photon for a while? He hates being lonely."

"Well, of course! Where can I find him?"

"Knowing Photon, he overheard our conversation and is already hiding. You'll have to find him."

"Like, hide and seek?"

"Indeed. I wish you good luck, you'll need it."

As they parted ways, Simon remembered something. "Oh, wait!"

Alcyone turned around. "Yes?"

"If you _really_ can't find him, use chocolate chip cookies. He can't resist those... which is exactly why they're in a Photon-proof vault. Ironically that vault was harder to make than the Hypernova suit, that clever little cat kept finding ways to get in. Anyhow, let me know when you can't find him, and I'll get you some bait."

Alcyone laughed. "He's a clever little one, huh?"

"Oh, he sure is."

* * *

As Simon finished doing the laundry, Alcyone came in. She looked exhausted. "Okay, that cat is _way_ smarter than I thought. I've looked literally _everywhere_!

Simon chuckled. "Honestly, I was expecting this to happen. Wait here for a moment."

Simon left the room. Alcyone sat down on the floor, letting her back rest against the wall as she took a moment to regain some energy.

After a while Simon came back in, holding a very familiar cat and looking rather annoyed.

"Guess what I saw when I opened the vault." Simon said. "Correct, one sleeping cookie addict and a lack of chocolate chip cookies. After I've tucked this little prankster in I'll go buy some new cookies, but knowing Photon they won't even be safe if I store them off the planet."

Simon left the room, leaving a hysterically laughing Alcyone behind.

-LINE HERE-

That evening Simon made lasagna for everyone save for Photon, for who Simon had bought some chocolate chip cookies. "Photon doesn't _need_ to eat." Simon explained. "He sure likes it though. Therefore I'll give him stuff he absolutely loves. _Still_ , Photon, don't you think you've had _enough_ cookies?"

Photon shook his head, meaning 'one can never eat enough chocolate chip cookies.'

The three Lombaxes also enjoyed their meals, besides, they liked how Simon was revealing a bit more about his home world, none of them liked how there were so many mysteries about him. It made Simon seem a bit... distant.

After dinner, everyone met up in the living room and played some board games. Chess, for example. As you can imagine, Ratchet wasn't happy with the fact that he was beaten by Photon. In fact, the only people that were able to beat the clever cat were Simon and Alcyone, with Angela versus Photon resulting in a tie.

Afterwards, they all went to bed. Angela gasped when she stepped into bed. "My god!"

"What?"

"Just... I can't describe this. It's like lying on a cloud!"

Ratchet lay down next to her. "Wow, it's so soft!"

"I know, right?" Angela said. "Though, my pillow could be softer."

"Oh? How?"

Angela let her head rest on Ratchet's chest. "Much better."

Ratchet laughed and began to stroke her arm before they fell asleep together.

* * *

Simon woke up when he heard a scream. When he looked around, he saw that Photon was awake as well, and was looking startled. "Photon, stay." Simon commanded as Final Eclipse formed in his hands. The scream had come from Alcyone's room. He sprinted through the hallways, and kicked down the door to Alcyone's room.

But as he looked around, there was no enemy to be found. He quickly turned around, but there were no enemies there either.

He turned around again, and that's when he noticed that there was something hiding under the sheets. Simon used Final Eclipse to fix the door before the sword vanished again. He walked over to the bed and carefully pulled away the sheets.

"You okay?"

Alcyone was staring at him with a frightened expression. As she kept staring at him, however, she began to calm, and cry.

Simon sat down on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. "Hey, hey, I know I'm not the prettiest but there's no need for _this_."

Alcyone chuckled once through her tears, but the effect was short-lived.

Simon shook his head. "Whatever you dreamed about... do you want to talk about it?"

Alcyone thought for a moment, then she spoke.

* * *

 **Alright, I really hope all of the Epilogue fans find this story...  
**

 **Anyhow, I'm really excited to get this story started again, and I'm starting it with a bang! Who knows what we'll learn about Alcyone the next chapter?**

 **(Hopefully) see you all in the next chapter!**


	2. Waterworks

**I'm so happy that people seem to have found this story and seem to like it so far!**

 **Because I don't have a lot of inspiration for author's notes, let me just skip to the reviews!**

 **Jadzia Ezri Dax: "** ** _This was a fantastic chapter and I really enjoyed it. I love how Simon and Photon interact with each other! Aaaaaannd... I love cookies too!  
P. S. I couldn't figure out how to update you about my OC on YouTube so I updated in a review in True Heroes. But I'm figuring out my YouTube account.  
P. S. S. I had a lot of fun while on vacation! We caught a lot of bass at a lake and ate them. Then we went canoeing at the Adirondacks and saw lots of things. And of course, we had smores and root beer! It was an amazing vacation. Except my sister was annoyed to have a bass in her lap! Lol!  
P. S. S. S. I'll play both the original and the reboot of Skyrim, you can count that!  
P. S. S. S. S. There's two new Sonic games coming out in 2017 and I'm excited like mad!  
P. S. S. S. S. S. Photon is as adorable as usual!_"  
Thank you! And who _doesn't_ love cookies?  
P.S. YouTube isn't that hard tbh, I figured it out quite fast. Is there a problem you're experiencing?  
P.S.S. Ahaha! Well, having a fish in your lap is a rather... 'unusual' experience so I can understand why your sister would be annoyed by that. My own vacation is halfway over, which also means that I still have one-and-a-half weeks to enjoy Switzerland!  
P.S.S.S. Playing both of them is a waste of money as the rebooted Skyrim is more of an improved version of Skyrim. Trust me, it's better to buy the reboot only, or should I use the term remaster? Just look up 'Skyrim: Special Edition' on Google Images.  
P.S.S.S.S. Really? I didn't know, I'll look that up.  
P.S.S.S.S.S. Photon: *purrs* ('Thank you!')**

 **Destiny W: "** ** _This chapter was pretty good, I can't wait for the next one._ "  
Well, wait no more, it's here! Enjoy!**

 **Max Chronicle: "** ** _Well this a start... literally. Don't know about you, but if you don't mind, I'm going do this review in a different style. Hope you're not too mad at me._**

 _ **(The following text is rated I for inspired)**_  
 _ **Fans loved Epilogue 1, Epilogue 2 didn't quite live up to the hype, now read the newest halfway mark that'll make people say...**_  
 _ **"Man, who knew the point fives were so good?"**_  
 _ **EPILOUGE 2.5: Summer Of Fun**_  
 _ **Simon is back, and he didn't get enough sleep.**_  
 _ **(Cue first sentence again)**_  
 _ **Thrill as he ditches his cool Hypernova armor for some ordinary clothing... wait, what?**_  
 _ **When he's not kicking azz and taking names, follow Simon as he spends his free time:**_  
 _ **-making advanced tea formulas to cure sleepiness**_  
 _ **-hanging with his friennnnnnds**_  
 _ **-and playing hide and seek with his cat (Man, Photon must really love his cookies)**_  
 _ **With no evil around the cosmos, Simon needs to spend time with people that he can have a good time with including:**_  
 _ **Ratchet - a lombax hero whom Simon raised... then tragically faked his own death to save the orphaned boy**_  
 _ **Angela - a lombax geneticist whom Simon also raised... then left her behind after she turned 19**_  
 _ **Alcyone - a lombax 'goddess' whom Simon literally met not that long ago in a temple**_  
 _ **Photon - a super-intelligent cat that has a debatable addiction to cookies**_  
 _ **Read along as these characters end up... actually interacting rather fine together in this well-written, well-diverse story...**_  
 _ **WHAT? I've got to be honest. I enjoyed it. But since I'm not Honest Trailers, I'm going to skip the NITPICKING!**_

 _ **Starring:**_  
 _ **Simon - Bright Lights**_  
 _ **Ratchet - One Little Lombax**_  
 _ **Angela - Two Little Lombaxes**_  
 _ **Alcyone - Third Times The Charm**_  
 _ **and Photon - Hail Cute Garfield**_  
 _ **EPILOGUE 2.5 - IT'S COOL NOW**_

 _ **(Yep, that whole review was Honest Trailer inspired. I'll give you a three toasters if you can figure out which one I used.)**_  
 _ **Until chapter 2,**_  
 _ **Max out**_ **"  
Okay, I was _not_ expecting that... first off, what do you mean by 'Epilogue 2 didn't quite live up to the hype'? Is there something you missed? Also, 'Hail Cute Garfield'? That made me laugh SO hard!  
Also, in defense mode: Simon left Angela behind to prevent attracting unwanted attention, especially considering Tachyon was still at large. And Alcyone is no goddess, she was praised as a goddess after saving the Cerinians, though her power comes from her staff, just like Simon and Final Eclipse. And Photon, well, everyone has a favorite dish, and Photon's so happens to be chocolate chip cookies. And considering Photon's abilities, keeping him away from said cookies is going to be a challenge. And who said Simon ditched Hypernova?...  
**

* * *

It was a beautiful day on planet Vehena, and from the forests, there was signing. The singing of various exotic birds... and the singing of a few Lombax children who were exploring the forest.

"Have you found anything, sis?" a female voice said.

"No, there is nothing here. Shall we keep looking or go home?"

"Celaeno, come on."

"Sorry, sis, I'm just getting tired." Celaeno said. "I wonder if Merope, Asterope and Taygeta had any luck?"

"Hey, Celaeno! Electra!" a voice yelled from the forest. "Have either of you had any luck?"

"Speak of the devil, here they are." Electra said. "No, we haven't found anything so far."

Meanwhile, a pair of eyes was watching them from within the bushes. That is, until one of the sisters saw them. "Alcyone, it's alright. We knew that you were following us." Asterope said.

"You... you're not mad that I didn't stay at home?" Alcyone replied.

"We're your sisters, trust me, we know about your adventurous side." Electra said. Just... be careful, okay?"

"Okay." Alcyone said. It stayed silent for a moment. "Shall we go home?"

Electra nodded. "We should come back another time to look for berries. I guess we will have to work without them." There was a hint of sadness in Electra's voice, and they all knew why.

"Come on."

As they arrived home, however, the laughing and talking faded. Their father came running at them, holding a bundle of blankets in his arms. He was bleeding, and one of his ears was missing. Electra quickly took her youngest sibling, Maia, in her arms. "Father, what happened?"

"Just... run! Run and hi-"

He couldn't finish his sentence, because laser fire had shot out of the forest and had hit him in the back of the head, killing him.

The sisters screamed and scattered. Alcyone stormed into the forest. In the distance, she could hear a terrible screech. "Get them! Eradicate those Lombaxes!"

* * *

"That was the last time I saw my sisters." Alcyone said. "I barely managed to escape the planet thanks to the help of a traveler, Max Apogee. However, Tachyon soon found out about him and began his pursuit. Max Apogee was able to bring me to safety by dumping his cargo above the planet Cerinia, but what the Cragmites didn't know was that I was hiding in one of them.

The crate I was in landed in a lake, and I was trapped. Hurt and tired, I swam to the surface, but to no avail. I drowned."

"But... then how can you be here?" Simon asked.

"The Cerinians had heard the splash and had seen the cargo crates falling from the sky and burning up in the atmosphere, save for a few. Some of them had rushed to the lake, and dove in. Because Cerinians wear very little by tradition, they could swim really, really fast, because there's no clothing dragging them down. But me, with my dress, I was in trouble. If you wonder why Cerinians have such an... unusual outfit by tradition, it actually has to do with the heat on the planet, as well as the fact that they had learned the hard way that clothing could get stuck during a pursuit. Anyhow, the Cerinians managed to get me out. However, I was already dead.

They brought me to the biggest, most beautiful temple on the planet, Lightbringer Temple. It was said that a legendary artifact was hidden there, one with the power to heal every wound. However, only the purest of heart could ever find it. Dawnbringer came floating down and the moment it touched my skin, I miraculously started to breathe."

"So... you've been dead?"

"No. After meeting you, I realized that the staff's power had jumped through time and had prevented me from dying, only so that it could fully resurrect me later. Anyhow, I was given the title of Princess of Light and was told to guard Cerinia with my life. And I failed."

"How old were you?"

"Fourteen."

"You were just a child! How could you have mastered such immense power? No, when the planet was taken over by Black Hole's immense evil, there was nothing you could have done. But, what happened to the rest of your family?"

"My mother, Pleione was her name, died of a terrible disease two months after giving birth to my youngest sister, Maia. The oldest was Electra, then Celaeno, then Taygeta and Asterope, then me, then Merope, and then Maia. In hindsight, if I hadn't followed my sisters that day, I would've been killed."

"How were they?"

Alcyone laughed, although there were still tears in her eyes.

"My mother was tall, beautiful, calm and gentle, and she often sang songs with us. She had a beautiful voice. She had fur as white as fresh snow, and gray eyes. Her fur had silver stripes. What saddened us all that day is that we were out looking for berries to decorate a cake with. Mom... she used to do that with us.

My father, Atlas was his name, was shorter, but strong. He always made us feel so safe. He had silver fur and blue stripes, and blue eyes. My father, he sometimes called himself 'the man that could carry the world', and he wasn't lying either, he was strong. Very strong. When mom told him that she was pregnant, he picked her up and carried her around all day, out of pure joy. When she died... let's say the world he was carrying was shattered. He wasn't the same anymore. He became very silent and a bit distant.

Anyhow, my oldest sister, Electra, had silver fur and gray eyes, but for her stripes she had mom's snow white. Electra was... sometimes like a mother to us all, always pushing everyone to stay strong, always encouraging us all to do our work, always keeping us on her feet.

Celaeno had blue eyes, silver fur and light blue stripes. She... Celaeno loved everything about nature. Animals, plants, anything. She would often go diving in the lake and explore the coral reefs. I'd often go with her. In fact, she was the one who taught me how to swim.

Taygeta and Asterope were twins, both were white with silver stripes, but had father's blue eyes. They had a very cheerful personality, always coming up with new jokes and always laughing.

Merope had light blue fur and white stripes, and Merope... she was always very kind and caring. She always talked about how she would love to have a daughter or son. She would've made a great mother too, but..."

Alcyone started to cry again, and Simon stroked her back. "Ssh, it's alright. It's okay."

When Alcyone had calmed a little, she continued. "And Maia... Maia had blue eyes that were always looking around in wonder. She had white fur with silver stripes, and she was always so full of energy.

That day, when Tachyon found us... they all died. Tachyon destroyed the whole planet, they could never have survived. Not even my infant sister was allowed to live."

Alcyone started to cry harder and harder. Simon wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay."

"I... even with the help of the Cerinians, it still took me ages to process what had happened. It would take years, when I turned twenty-five I finally became a bit less afraid."

"And then Black Hole attacked?"

"Yes, and since then it all went so fast. Simon... I miss my family. I miss mom, I miss dad, I miss my sisters... I miss the live I should have been allowed to live, happy with my six sisters and my mom and dad. What I dreamed about... I was living through that whole nightmare of being chased by Cragmites and hearing your sisters' crying and deathscreams everywhere all over again."

Simon nodded, deep in thought. He had made the decision the moment Alcyone had begun her story. He would train Alcyone. Not just to defend herself, he would train her so she could save her family.

"Simon... are you okay?"

Simon turned to her. "From now on, we're going to train two hours a day. I'll teach you how to save your family. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"But... what if the nightmare comes back?" Alcyone said, hugging her pillow.

Simon frowned and thought for a while. Then he turned to her. "Do you want me to stay?"

"Huh? But... where will you sleep? I mean, there's only one bed here..."

Simon sat down in an armchair in the corner of the room. "Right here. Unless the bed is too hard, in that case I'll wash it with some special chemicals first."

Alcyone smiled. "The bed's so soft, I honestly could kiss you for this."

She could feel her cheeks heat up a little.

"Alright. Sleep well then." Simon said. He watched as she fell asleep. After she had fallen asleep, Simon walked back to his room, to Photon, who was still a bit startled. He pet the cat. "It's okay, Photon. You can go back to sleep."

Photon purred and closed his eyes again. "Goodnight, pal." Simon said before walking back to Alcyone's room and sitting down again. He watched her sleep for a while before closing his eyes and falling asleep himself.

* * *

"Step right, then counter." Simon explained. "Ready?"

Alcyone nodded. Simon shot forward with the plastic training staff and attempted to hit Alcyone with it. She stepped right and countered. Simon jumped aside and attempted to hit her again, managing to tap her on the arm.

"Hey, why did you do that?" she asked. "You never said you'd counter as well!"

"That's another thing you need to learn: be impulsive, learn to read your opponent and use every opportunity to your advantage. Ready?"

Alcyone nodded. Simon tried to attack from the right this time, but this time, Alcyone took a step back and countered. Simon blocked and attacked from the left. Alcyone blocked and countered.

"Excellent!" Simon said, taking a step backwards as Alcyone's staff was pressing against his chest, just above his heart. "If this was a real fight, I'd be in big trouble. That's enough for today though."

As they entered the kitchen for lunch, they met up with Ratchet and Angela. Angela asked Simon if he had any ideas of what to do. After thinking for a moment, Simon had an idea.

"There is an underwater tunnel leading from the lake underneath the waterfall all the way to the shore. We could go diving? I've got scuba gear lying around here."

"Well, at least it's something." Ratchet said. "We'll meet you by the cable car."

* * *

Walking hand in hand, Ratchet and Angela met up with Simon and Alcyone. Angela was wearing a sky blue swimsuit and Ratchet was wearing green swimming trunks. Alcyone was wearing a marine blue swimsuit, and Simon was wearing a white drysuit and was carrying a backpack. Everyone but Simon stared out the windows in awe as the cable car descended to the beach. From there, they walked to the lake underneath the waterfall, though the forest. Once they reached the lake, everyone but Simon gasped. Around the lake was a warm, golden beach in the shadow of the mountain.

Simon put down the backpack he had been carrying, but as he pulled out the scuba gear, he frowned.

"What's wrong?" Alcyone asked, noticing Simon's frown.

"We only have three sets of flippers, three diving goggles and three oxygen tanks."

"So... one of us can't go?"

"Nonsense, I'll just go without."

"Are you _insane_?!"

"Relax, I can breathe water."

"What?!"

"Yes, I gave myself that ability ages ago. It's rather uncomfortable, but I'll live."

"Well... if you're okay with it..."

"I am. Here." Simon said, handing her a pair of flippers, an oxygen tank and diving goggles.

Alcyone put on the flippers and goggles, and Simon helped her with the oxygen tank. Meanwhile, Ratchet and Angela were helping each other gear up. When everyone was ready, they waded into the water until they eventually had to start swimming. Alcyone took a deep breath and dove underwater. She looked around until she saw Simon. He was pointing at a cave. Angela and Ratchet were swimming underwater as well, watching them from a few feet away.

As they followed Simon through the cave, Alcyone couldn't help but stare at her surroundings in awe. There were crystals embedded in the walls everywhere, beautifully reflecting the light.

After a good few minutes however, Alcyone noticed that Simon clenched his fists. She tapped his leg, and he turned around. She took a deep breath and offered him the mouthpiece connected to the oxygen tank she was wearing. Simon stared at it for a second, then took it and took a deep breath before giving it back to her with a thankful thumbs up.

Meanwhile Ratchet and Angela were swimming around each other, playfully pushing the other away or wrapping their arms around the other. When they resurfaced at the shore after a while, Ratchet and Angela swam back to the shore. Alcyone turned to go after them, but Simon tapped her on the shoulder. "Wait. There's something I'd like to show you first."

"Are you sure? Because my tank is bone dry."

"Then give it to me, it's only slowing you down at this point."

Simon took the tank from her. Then he dove back into the depths. Alcyone took a deep breath and swam after him. When Simon turned around, he needed some willpower to suppress a chuckle. Alcyone had taken such a deep breath that even her cheeks were filled with air, it looked a bit funny.

Simon swam around a rock, Alcyone following him. She nearly let go of her air in surprise.

There was a whole forest of coral reefs up ahead. Simon took her hand and guided her through it. As they were reaching the end, however, Alcyone's lungs began to burn. She tapped Simon's arm and pointed up. Simon nodded, and they began to swam to the surface.

Alcyone took a deep breath as she resurfaced. "That was beautiful!" she said.

"I knew you'd like it, that's exactly why I showed it to you." Simon said. "Come on, let's go home."

They were rather far from the shore though, and Alcyone was starting to get tired. Simon noticed and stopped. "Come on, I'll carry you."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, you have to take the oxygen tank again, but yes, I'm sure."

After taking the oxygen tank back Alcyone wrapped her arms around Simon and let her tired muscles relax while Simon began to swim.

Meanwhile Ratchet and Angela were lying on the beach, drying in the warm sun. In fact, Angela had fallen asleep next to Ratchet. Ratchet smiled and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

When Simon came walking out of the water, however, Alcyone had fallen asleep as well.

Simon locked eyes with Ratchet, and Ratchet understood what Simon meant. 'I know how you feel, pal. Let's go.'

Ratchet picked up Angela bridal-style and together they walked back to the cable car.

* * *

Ratchet yawned as he grabbed his toothbrush. Angela was taking a shower, and Ratchet could hear singing coming from behind the steel door over the constant sound of water. "What a day, huh?" Ratchet yelled.

"Yeah, I loved it, you?" Angela replied, yelling over the noise of the water.

"It was amazing!" Ratchet replied, brushing his teeth. The shower stopped. "Do you need me to leave the bathroom for a moment?" Ratchet asked.

"Nah, there's a waterproof cabinet in here where you can store towels and dry clothing, so it's alright."

After a few minutes Angela came out. She was wearing a white shirt and white shorts made of a soft material.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, her fur still damp, before grabbing her own toothbrush.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, Simon entered his lab again. It never ceased to amaze him, the sight of his lab. Most people would think of a lab as a place made of white tiles and white metal with complicated-looking equipment here and there, fancy computers built into the wall, or various strangely-colored chemicals bubbling away, but Simon's lab was nothing like that.

The brown wood walls gave the lab a welcoming and calming atmosphere rather than the pure white found in most labs, pure white labs, in Simon's opinion, were only unnerving and feeling everyone within with a strife for perfection. Then again, Simon did strife for perfection, but he didn't need every bit of his lab reminding him of it.

One corner of his lab was completely empty, he used this area to build various machinery. A large, complicated machine was built into the back wall, one that pumped in water from the ocean and purified it, turning it into drinking water or purifying it even further so it could be used for scientific purposes. Simon navigated through the maze of tables where various unfinished projects were waiting for the finishing touch, and avoided the chalk boards placed here and there with various complicated formula's on them. What he was looking for was all the way in the back. Walking over to a computer built into the wall, Simon began to type on the keyboard placed on a table underneath.

He checked how the water purifier was doing, and he analyzed the composition of the water. After that, he checked what weather the morning would bring with it. He frowned. This wasn't good.

Meanwhile Photon was sitting on the balcony of Simon's room, watching the storm in the distance move closer and closer.

* * *

 **Alright, bonus points for the people who figured out why Alcyone's family has those names and why the planet they lived on is named Vehena. Also, some more backstory on Alcyone, Also, a crap load of chololate chip cookies for everyone who figures out what is happening in the background...  
**


	3. Storms and Dreams

**Alright, I'm back! I've got another project to get back to however, so I'll keep this short. What? No, it totally isn't No Man's Sky, a game I've become totally addicted to, what are you talking about?**

 **Anyhow, reviews!**

 **First off, there's a new review on the first Epilogue!**

 **Falcy: "** ** _Hmmm...looks like someone sounding familiar doesn't wanna lose against Hypernova-wait a minute...  
That guy must Black Hole! The one who got banished but then managed to escape and is seeking revenge! That sure is a plot twister. Anyhoo, keep it up!_"  
Ooh, by the time you're reading this there will have been several more plot twists, and there will be many more in the future, you can count on that! I hope you enjoy the rest of the series as well!  
**

 **And the reviews for Epilouge 2.5:**

 **Destiny W: "** ** _This was a great chapter, it's sad what happened to Alcyone's family. I can't wait for more. : )_ "  
Yeah, Alcyone's had quite a lot of bad luck. I figured I should add some backstory to her because she just kinda popped up in Epilogue 2 while not much about the character has been revealed yet, and that's something I wanted to tackle. I'm really glad you're still enjoying the series, and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations as well. Enjoy!**

 **Jadzia Ezri Dax: "** ** _I have a few suspicions, BUT I do not want to embarrass myself if I'm wrong, so I won't say anything other than what Alcyone said to Simon earlier in the chapter has me thinking...  
P. S. I'll just play the remastered version of Skyrim, then. (Still saving up my allowance for it, because I spent quite a bit on a camera that I wanted).  
P. S. S. Yeah, I can understand my sister's annoyance. I just thought it was funny, was all. Lol..._"  
You won't be embarrassed if you're wrong, with the amount of plot twists I'm throwing in it's kinda hard to get something right. I'm actually wondering what you suspect is going on.  
P.S. Skyrim is SO worth it! It'll take _years_ to fully complete the game, that's how massive it is, and all of that in a beautiful setting! Another game that may interest you is No Man's Sky, released for the PC and PS4. It's a game set in a procedurally generated universe that counts a staggering total of about 18 quintillion planets, each of them unique and with unique kinds of life! And the best part: the game is THAT huge, yet under 4GB! (On the PS4 at least) And also, if you get Skyrim, trust me when I say that you're going to love using the Unrelenting Force shout, and I think you might like the fact that you can fully customize your character.  
P.S.S. It was indeed funny! XD**

 **Fanfictionfan03: "** ** _I have waited for this for ages so glad it is here_ "  
Oh, it's here! The story is back on! In fact, I'm already starting to work on Epilogue 3, so expect a non-stop series from now on! (I may have to delay some chapters if something in my personal life pops up though). I'm really glad you're enjoying this series so far, and I hope you'll enjoy the future chapters as well! But for now, please enjoy chapter 3 of Epilogue 2.5!**

* * *

Photon ran into the house and closed the doors as the storm hit. If it wasn't for his strength he would've been blown into the room, but Photon managed to close and lock the doors. He ran to Simon's lab to warn his friend of what was coming, only to run into Simon in the hallways.

Simon saw the panicked look in the cat's eyes. "Yes, I know, Photon. Storm." Simon said as he picked up the cat and ran to Ratchet & Angela's room. He ran past Alcyone's room in the meantime and stopped for a second. Alcyone was asleep, so he didn't have to warn her. He ran on, reaching his two friends' room a few seconds later. He knocked on the door.

He could hear footsteps inside, and a few seconds later Ratchet opened up. "Yeah?"

"Ratchet, there's a massive storm coming, brace yourself."

Ratchet frowned. "But weren't storms uncommon on this planet?"

"Storms are natural and required for an ecosystem to stay intact, but a storm of this magnitude should be impossible. I have no idea what's happening. Don't worry though, this house was made with Indestructum, there's no way that storm can damage anything."

Ratchet sighed in relief. "Thank Orvus. I'll go tell Angela."

"Alright. Goodnight, Ratchet."

"Goodnight, Simon. Photon." Ratchet said as he closed the door with a yawn.

Simon put Photon down on the ground. "Photon, you can go to sleep."

Photon tapped Simon's left leg with a white-furred paw, meaning 'won't you come with me?'

"No." Simon said. "I'm going to Alcyone's room and spend the night there. She's been having nightmares lately, imagine what would happen if she'd wake up in the middle of a storm like this."

Photon gave Simon a sly grin. "Photon, please, not now. I'm too tired for this."

Photon nodded and sprinted away. Simon walked to Alcyone's room and sat down in the armchair. As he was about to fall asleep, however, he could feel something lie down in his lap. He opened one eye. "Photon?"

Indeed, Photon was lying in Simon's lap, half-asleep andcurled up into a ball of white-blue fur. Photon opened one eye and pressed his nose against Simon's arm before lowering one ear. "You mean you're scared of the storm and thus can't sleep on your own?" Simon asked. Photon nodded.

Simon sighed. "Alright then."

Photon gave Simon a thankful smile before falling asleep. Simon followed a minute later, drifting away as the storm ferociously raged on outside.

* * *

The next morning, the storm was still raging as Alcyone woke up. She yawned an stretched her arms before noticing Simon sleeping in the armchair with Photon asleep in his lap. She smiled. He hat spent the entire night in an armchair rather than a bed just to make her feel safe. He wasn't lying when he said that he'd do anything for a friend. Perhaps she could do something back.

She silently got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. After changing into a blue sweater and black jeans, she walked to the kitchen and got to work on making breakfast for all of them.

When Simon woke up half an hour later, Alcyone's bed was empty. The sheets were folded nicely, and there was a certain white-furred cat asleep on the sheets. Then he noticed the table placed next to the armchair. On it were a plate with three sandwiches, a cup of warm coffee and a note.

Simon picked up the note and began to read. "Thank you for all your help and kindness. I wanted to do something back, so... I hope it tastes well. Enjoy your breakfast! - Alcyone."

Simon smiled, she really didn't need to do this. He grabbed a sandwich and began to eat, and it tasted really good too!

* * *

Alcyone quickly stepped back as Simon attempted to use an opening to his advantage. They were training once again, and this time Simon had attacked all of a sudden. Alcyone had mostly been fighting defensive, but she couldn't keep this up forever. She had to find a way to turn the tides if she wanted to win.

Then she had an idea. She pretended to attack from the right, but backed off at the last possible moment. She quickly dove forward, rolling in between Simon's legs and before Simon could turn around she pressed her training staff against the back of his neck. "I won."

"Well done!" Simon complimented. "You're a fast learner. However, I still haven't yet given it my all, you still have some things to learn. Try again."

Simon began to fight again. Alcyone attempted to use the same trick out of curiosity, how would Simon counter?

Simon countered by diving forward into a roll before turning around and charging at her. He somersaulted over her and pressed his training staff against the back of her neck this time.

"I could've countered and knocked out out immediately, you know." Simon said. "But it involved a dropkick backwards and that really would've hurt. Still, there is something I still want to try before we call it a day."

"And that is?"

"Remember when we fought Black Hole? I fused with the Hypernova suit and Final Eclipse. I'd like to see what happens when you fuse with the Hypernova suit and Dawnbringer's power.

"Are... are you sure?" Alcyone said, nervous. "Do... do we really need to test that?"

"Yes. I need to know what you can and cannot do."

Alcyone took a deep breath. "Okay then. But how?"

Simon turned around and Final Eclipse formed in his hands. He raised the sword, and a portal opened up. The Hypernova suit came falling out.

"So, how do you fuse, you might ask." Simon said. "It's easier than you might think. First, let your staff form."

Dawnbringer formed in Alcyone's hands. "Now, focus on your weapon. Can you feel the power of light flowing through the weapon?"

"Yes."

"That means that you can control it. Focus on that energy and pull it out while you focus on the Hypernova Suit's power as well. Hang on, I'll let it charge up as much power as possible."

Alcyone listened, and did as she was told. She focused on the power and bent it to her will, then forced that power into herself.

She began to emit a staggering amount of light, and Simon gasped.

Simon could only stare at the being in front of him. "Wow..." was all he could stammer.

* * *

"Remind me to never make you angry." Simon said as he and Alcyone left the training room. Alcyone was herself again. "Well... how did it feel?" Simon asked.

"It felt... weird. I felt strong, really strong, as if I could take on the world."

"That's how I felt, too."

Simon looked out the glass wall of the hallway. "The storm still isn't over. Well... wanna play a game or something?"

"Sure." Alcyone said, following him to the large living room of the house. "Alright." Simon said. "Video game or regular game?"

"What's a video game?" Alcyone asked.

Simon frowned. "You don't know?"

Then he facepalmed. "Oh, of course, how stupid of me. Anyhow, video games, where do I begin? Do you know what a computer is?"

"No."

"Hmm, this is becoming more and more complicated. Erm... follow me for a moment."

Alcyone followed Simon out of the room. They walked to Simon's room. Simon walked over to his desk and knelt down in front of it. He began to pull on a plastic box of some sorts, pulling it out from under his desk.

He grabbed a screwdriver from a drawer and removed four screws from the side of the box, then removed a panel, opening it up. " _This_ is a computer." he said. "A computer is built of a few components. Do you see that fancy-looking metal plate in the back?"

"Yes." Alcyone responded.

"That's the motherboard. It links all of the other components together. On the motherboard is the processor, the 'task manager' of the computer. It's a bit like a mechanical brain. Those chips on the motherboard, over there, those are the RAM-memory chips. Whenever I open a file on the computer and edit it, the changes are saved here until I press the 'save' button and apply the changes to where the document is actually saved, that component right there, the hard drive. The RAM-memory is like the short-term memory of a computer while the hard drive is the long-term memory. Then, last but not least, those fans prevent the equipment from overheating, and this fancy-looking component right here is the GPU, or graphics card. You see, in order to see what I'm doing, I have to link the computer to a screen, and the GPU is responsible for updating said screen. Do you still follow?"

"Not exactly." Alcyone replied, truthfully. Simon nodded and closed the casing again before starting up the computer. He turned on the screen. "Perhaps you'll understand better now."

The login screen displayed. "See this bar right here? The computer is asking for a password, this prevents anyone but me from accessing my account and my files on this computer. Do you see this icon? That's me, and I can move it with this thing, the mouse. I can use this to select data on the computer, and I can use this, the keyboard, to alter said data."

Simon shut down the computer. "A video game is slightly different. They either run on a computer, or on a video game console, a computer designed specifically for video games. Video games are data that, when opened by the computer, provides an interactive environment created for entertainment purposes. Do you still follow, or am I going too fast?"

"I... I think I got it." Alcyone said.

"Great! Follow me."

* * *

Alcyone had quickly gotten the hang of using a controller, and she was getting better and better at the game they were playing. Eventually Ratchet and Angela came in, and upon seeing what their friends were doing, they asked if they could join. The answer was, of course, yes.

After a few games, however, Simon turned off the gaming console. "That's about enough for now, it's lunchtime."

Alcyone and Angela left the room, heading to the kitchen. Ratchet stayed behind, lost in thought. "What's bothering you?" Simon asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just wonder how Clank is doing."

"Would you like to speak with him?" Simon asked.

Meanwhile, at the exact center of the universe (give or take a few feet) a certain small robot was sitting on a chair in his room. "The first gadget the Zoni gave me were the Robo-Wings, mom. They allowed me to fly much, much further than before."

"Ah, I see." Clank's mother replied. After Simon had sent back the old A.I. the previous evening, Orvus had decided to build a new body for Clank's mother, a robotic one this time. And that's why there was a robotic woman sitting on another chair, across from Clank. Clank's mother had golden skin, and she was wearing a metallic, purple dress, and she had long, metallic hair that covered one eye. Her eyes were cyan in color though. Se also had an antenna on her head that resembled Clank's. Orvus had given her the opportunity to choose a name for herself, and she had decided on Stellaris.

Stellaris noticed the absent look in her son's eyes. "Is there something bothering you?"

Clank snapped out of his thoughts. "Yes. I wonder how Ratchet is doing."

"Would you like to speak with him?"

"Yes, please."

"Then turn around." Stellaris said, having noticed a portal opening and recognizing the Lombax on the other side. "Hello, Ratchet." Stellaris said.

Ratchet stared at her. "Who _are_ you?"

Clank jumped off the chair he had been sitting on and walked into view. "My father has given my mother a new, robotic body. So, Ratchet, meet my mother, Stellaris."

Ratchet chuckled. "Alright, hello Stellaris."

"Hello, Ratchet. However, I shall take my leave now and leave you and my son alone." Stellaris said before leaving the room.

Clank turned to his best friend. "Hello, Ratchet!"

"Hey, pal." Ratchet said back. Ratchet nervously scratched himself behind his right ear. "Hey, Clank, I, uh... I just want you to know, that, uh..."

Clank calmly nodded. "I am aware of your feelings towards Miss Cross, and I am aware of the fact that you are in a romantic relationship with her as of recently. And I would like you to know that I am happy for you."

"Yeah, but, I don't want you to feel like I'm replacing you or something. You're still my best pal."

Clank smiled. "And you are my dearest friend as well, Ratchet, which is why I am not jealous. In fact, I am happy that you have found someone to love, and it would only be natural to spend time with the person you love."

"You know, one day, Clank, I'm sure you'll find someone too."

"Perhaps." Clank said with a smile. "But that day has not yet come, therefore that would be something of the future. The present matters most however, for the past and future lie beyond our control. The future may be based off our own actions, but those actions take place in the present, making it the foundation of the time yet to come, and the legacy of the time that has passed."

"That's really well said, pal!"

Clank let out his trademark giggle. "Well, I suppose it is only natural for me, considering I am a Zoni. But all that aside, how are you doing?"

* * *

"Soooo... you're a... ge-ne-ti..."

"Geneticist." Angela replied. "And don't mind getting it wrong the first few times, it's a complicated word. Anyhow, yes, I'm a geneticist. It's... it's gonna take a really long time to explain it in detail, not because it's too hard to understand, but because it requires a lot of knowledge about Biology."

"I understand." Alcyone replied, before drinking some of her tea. "And it's okay. Besides, there's no fun in knowing everything, it's much more fun to learn new things."

"Well said." Angela replied. "Anyhow, this storm s boring, do you know anything to do?"

"Well... I'd love to help you, but I don't this house. And with this weather there's no going outside."

"Well, perhaps Simon could give us a tour? I mean, I don't know half of this house either."

"Good idea." Alcyone said as she placed her now empty cup in the dishwasher. "But where is Simon anyways?"

"What's wrong?" Simon asked, walking into the kitchen. "I would've sworn I heard my name."

"You're correct." Angela said. "The thing is, we don't know half of the rooms in this house, could you show us around?"

"Now, or later?"

"Doesn't matter." Alcyone said.

"Well, I can give you two a tour now, but Angela, you'll have to inform Ratchet later. He's currently talking to Clank, so..."

"That's okay." Angela said. "I think it's obvious that I don't mind spending time with him."

"Alright then, follow me." Simon said. The first room they visited was large and with a floor of smooth, wooden planks. "This is the gym." Simon explained, pointing at the various machinery scattered about. "You can use these machines to improve your physical condition."

Simon turned to Alcyone. "I especially encourage you to train, because the stronger you are, the greater your chance of survival. Trust me, I know."

Alcyone nodded. "I understand why. Anyhow, what room is up next?"

Next, Simon lead them into a unique hallway. The walls were covered with white tiles with a floor of large, black tiles. The hallway split up in two. Simon walked to the right, walking around the corner into a strange room, with various small rooms to the left and various steel cabinets to the right. Simon grabbed a pair of what appeared to be plastic bags from a dispenser in the corner of the room and gave Angela a pair as well.

Angela didn't understand at first, but then Simon pulled them over his feet. He didn't give Alcyone a pair considering she was walking on her bare feet.

He walked on, taking a turn left. The two hallways met again, and Simon turned right, the two Lombaxes following him in curiosity. They passed through a door and immediately they felt a wave of heat.

The two Lombaxes gasped as they found themselves in a large indoor swimming pool. It was built inside a cave, considering the roof was made of natural, rough rocks. The walls, however, were flat and covered in brown tiles, while the floor around the pool was covered in tiles of the same color. There were various stretchers placed along the pool, and the room was heated by warm air coming in through various vents in the walls.

Light was provided by various lights inside the pool itself, as well as through many frosted glass windows built into the wall, casting the whole room in a warm glow.

The wall in the back was also made of rough rock, and had various miniature waterfalls flowing down into the pool.

The pool itself was made out of white tiles and was roughly rectangular in shape, increasing in depth the closer you got to the back wall. There were also various speakers embedded in the walls, and there was a wooden platform built in the middle of the pool with a few seats, a table and a small kitchen, as well as a console that could turn the music on or off or change it, and that could control the lights, for example, kill the lights in the walls while keeping the lights in the pool itself on.

The pool itself was also heated, Simon explained. "Wow, what luxury!" Angela commented. "I can't agree more." Alcyone said.

Then they understood why the hallway had split up earlier, and what the small rooms were for: inside, you could change clothing, before storing your regular outfit in one of the steel cabinets embedded in the wall. The hallway had split up for more privacy, each path leading to a room that was a mirrored version of the room for the opposite gender.

The next room Simon showed was what he called the 'dreamscape room'. It was a small, circular room, and inside were various rows of beds. "These beds are dreampods. You lie down in one and close your eyes. The pod will close around you, and will reopen as soon as you want it to. All of these pods are linked to one central computer. When inside a dreampod, a special gas will immobilize your body while your mind will be wirelessly linked to the computer. You can play VR-games, for example, but you can create your whole own universe here. It's like a dream that you can control: anything, and I mean anything, is possible, which is why it's called the dreamscape room. Once the computer detects that you want to leave, the gas is removed and you will regain control of your body. At the same time, the computer will stop reading what commands you are trying to give to your actual body, the computer does this so you can move your limbs inside the simulation, and at the same time the computer will stop broadcasting information to your brains, like how an object feels for example, or what you can see. The dreampod will then reopen, allowing you to leave. If it does get stuck, say 'quasarburst code' and the simulation will be forced to shutdown, allowing you to regain control of your body. It is possible to manually open a dreampod from the inside, and since air is always pumped in, it is impossible to die of suffocation. This is completely safe." Simon explained.

"Well, okay then, I suppose." Angela said. "What's next?"

"Well, that's enough for now." Simon said. "In fact, it's been so long that not even I remember every room, although I do remember that the beds are special. If I remember correctly there's a console on the bed that allows you to do various things. For example, you can close it off with a small dome, which is why the beds are circular. You can do many things with this dome, for example you can project something on the inside, you can pump in warm water, don't worry about the bed, it can handle the water just fine and so do the sheets, but that aside, you can warm the air inside the dome, you can even, and you don't need the dome for this, use a feature that I call 'dream-link'. Dream-link can only be used when two people sleep in the same bed. It analyzes the brains of both sleeping persons and affects the brain activity without damaging anything. This is done in such a way that the two people's dreams are linked, ergo, they're in the same dream, and they can both affect the dream. Thanks to advanced technology, the user can also choose to be given full control of what they are dreaming once they fall asleep, allowing for massive adventures and lots of fun together while your body rests."

"What a remarkable system!" Angela said. "I must give that a try once."

"Go ahead, you can use it when you go to sleep this afternoon. For now though, it's three P.M. so there is still plenty of time before dinner."

* * *

"Can you sleep on your own again?" Simon asked Alcyone as she stepped into bed. "Well, I... I think so." she said. "I'd actually love to try that dream-link feature, but..."

Simon nodded. "There must be someone to link your dream to."

Alcyone nodded.

Simon sighed. "Should I help you with that?"

"Well, if you want to." Alcyone said. She had silently hoped that Simon would say that.

"Alright, then." Simon said as he stepped into the bed. He grabbed a remote from the side of the bed and pressed a few buttons. The dome closed around them and a beautiful starry sky was displayed on the inside while warm air was being pumped in.

"Alright, ready?" Simon asked.

"Yes." Alcyone replied. She closed her eyes with a smile, and before she knew it, she was hovering in front of Simon in a white void. Slowly but surely the world began to take shape, and Alcyone gasped. "This is Vehena!"

Simon facepalmed. "I forgot to turn on a few functions of dream control. We can interact, but we can't change where we are."

Then Simon had an idea. "We could train here!"

"Come again?"

"One does not simply mess with time, Alcyone. It requires training. I can teach you how to save your family. For example..." Simon said as he turned around. Alcyone gasped. Electra came running at them, carrying her infant sister Maia. She passed right through them as if they weren't even there. A few seconds later an army of Drophyds came storming through the forest, hunting down Electra. Alcyone burst out crying and wrapped her arms around Simon. Simon, however, pushed her away.

"No, not this time, Alcyone. Now isn't the time to cry, now is the time to stand up and fight. If you give up now, your family _will_ die. The thing is though, are you going to let them die?"

* * *

 **I'd like to take a moment to say something. I'm really glad that my stories are getting more attention! You see, I've noticed the amount of views and reviews drop for a while now, it made me wonder if there was something I was doing wrong.  
**

 **Therefore I'm really thankful for all of the positive feedback I've been receiving! In fact, I'm thankful for every view, so if you're reading this, thank you!**


	4. The Past Relived

**Okay, I'm back! And with an announcement.**

 **I want names, and I want them now. I want the name of the stupid imbecile at my school that expects me to accept this schedule. I won't go into much detail, but it's downright schandalous! I have eight free periods! _Eight!_ What's more, with this schedule I'm at school from seven in the morning until five in the afternoon! I HAVE A LIFE TOO, SCHOOL! FIX THIS MESS!**

 **But that's not all! Guess how school's decided to start this schoolyear? Of course, some moron got up and said "You know what students like? _Educational_ trips that last the entire day!" That's right, tomorrow I won't be home until six because of some 'fun and educational' trip. Climbing. Yaay, the entire day climbing while I'm not a big fan of heights. But that's not all! My school has a history of planning these 'fun and educational activities': they're always poorly-organized and far from the school. And guess who's got to pay for the extra bus fee. That's right, me. Ten dollars down the drain because of some 'fun activity' that they, of course, just _have_ to plan on the other side of the city. I'm so mad at school right now, if I don't stop thinking about it right now I'm gonna turn on my PS4 and gun down at least half of Quartu's population. And no, I don't feel bad for Blarg. The moment one of 'em said 'we're gonna send you to Lombax heaven', I've become a living nightmare to them and still are to this day.**

 **But school aside, you're all here for the story, so sorry about that little rant. I needed to get this out of my system before I'd explode. I mean, with this schedule I sometimes have to wait TWO HOURS just for the final lesson of the day!**

 ***sigh* Focus on the story, TWG. Alright, let's begin with the reviews. Thank god for all of you who keep supporting me and this series.**

* * *

 **Max Chronicle: " _Well, about my first review... uh, I'm just glad you liked 'Hail Cute Garfield'. The rest I don't really care to talk about. It was just me and my thoughts. But seeing that Simon may not have ditched 'Hypernova' was definitely a surprise. I wonder what's in store for the future._  
 _In any case, seeing that chapter 3 is up without me leaving a review for chapter 2 makes me feel a bit guilty. So I'm here and will review chapter 2 then move to number 3._**

 _ **(Chapter 2 Review)**_  
 _ **Tachyon... I"M GOING TO CURSE YOU WITH MY DESTROYING YOU!**_  
 _ **(takes five for a breather)**_  
 _ **Of course Simon would've given himself the ability to breathe in water... so why am I still surprised then? And everyone seems to be enjoying themselves with day spent diving... "CANNONBALL!" (Big Splash, surfaces then looks around) "Hey look, no sharks. Love this planet, Simon."**_

 _..._

 _ **It's the return of the Computer Class! (Fist pump) Now with Professor Simon's teaching, anyone can become an expert... so long as they put in the effort to understand.**_

 _ **And seeing Clank's mother getting a robotic body was like... a chilled out 'whoa'. Oh, and Clank, let me show you something. (Grabs Dimensionator and places it on head)**_  
 _ **"Dimensionator, find Circuit!" (Pulls lawn cord... nothing happens)**_  
 _ **(Frustrated, pulls lawn cord harder. Nothing happens. Eye twitches. Proceeds to yank on it, ripping out the cord)**_  
 _ **"Okay, this thing is obviously broken and I'm fresh out of 3 and 3/4 cubit hexagonal washers."(Tosses Dimensionator away where it crashes against a lamp, shattering it. Staring at my handiwork, I can say only one thing. "I'm in trouble. I guess we'll talk later Clank. Keep up the 'deep Zoni talk.'" Throws up a peace sign.)**_

 _ **It's probably just me, but I'm getting a bad vibe from those Dreampods.**_  
 _ **"I'm sensing possible plotline; the stench is strong with this one."**_  
 _ **But your right, Simon, "...now is the time to stand up and fight..." Total shiiiiiz.**_  
 _ **Max out.**_  
 ** _P.S. Can't wait for the next update._ "  
Ooh, you're gonna have to invent some new words like 'spiz' for the things I have planned for the future of the series. And don't worry about being late with reviewing, I'm thankful for every review. To me, it doesn't matter _when_ they're posted, it matters _that_ they're posted.**

 **With your hate of Sharkagators, you're gonna like what I have in store for the future of True Heroes. I personally hate Sharkagators just as much, I have a video on youtube where I play through the Pokitaru level and when I found one of 'em in the pumping stations I called it 'nightmare fuel' and beat the crap out of it. I hate that Insomniac replaced the invisible border with sharks. Yeah, it's more realistic than invisible walls but it removed a lot of fun from the level! I loved swimming around on Pokitaru in the original game, exploring this huge level, but now I have to look over my shoulder every freakin' time! Thankfully they just bite Ratchet in the ps4 game rahter than just straight up swallowing him whole, that always made me flinch in the original. *shudders***

 **But yeah, Custos has no sharks. And if they'd ever come to Custos Simon will exterminate them. No sharks on _his_ planet. And why finding Circuit doesn't work... here's something special about this series. The Epilogue series allows every other story on this website to exist within it's universe in the form of alternate timelines. You're not looking for an alternate dimension, but an alternate timeline, so I doubt you can bring in Circuit. Plus, ever since one of her stories was stolen Swords has become very protective of her OC's, so I doubt I'd get permission from her to add Circuit to this story. So, sorry Clank. No worries though, there are still various plot cards that I haven't yet played, who knows what will happen. And I also decided to give Clank's mother a robotic body because, with the old Orvus computer being repaired, what would become of it after reparation? Would it take over control of the Clock again? I had two A.I.'s and one body, and that's something I wanted to fix. And now Clank can speak to his mother more easily.**

 **Don't worry about the dreampods though, it's Simon who built them, so they're perfectly safe. And you thought that quote was shiz? Oh, there's more where that came from! Enjoy!**

 **Destiny W: "** ** _This was a great chapter. It's nice that Clank gets his mom back. : )_ "  
Clank already got his mother back. In fact, when was she ever gone? I never liked how Clank's own mother was just forgotten in the later games, I mean, even in ACiT, a game that explained most of Clank's backstory, his very own mother stayed left behind? Oh, I was not gonna let that happen. Anyhow, thank you once again, here's hoping this chapter lives up to your expectations. Enjoy!**

 **Jadzia Ezri Dax: "** ** _That was an awesome chapter! I can't believe how you are able to make such an amazing and wonderful storyline! Keep up the good work!  
P. S. Okay, so since I like guessing games sometimes, I'm going to give you a tiny hint on what I think is going on and you have to guess. Hint It has the letter E in it and has to do with feeling... can you guess what it is or will you be "chopped?" (No pun intended, of course.)  
P. S. S. Now I really want to play Skyrim! I'm sooo close to getting enough money for it! And I'll also check out the other game, No Man's Sky. I'm already interested in it. And I can FULLY customize my character? That is TOTALLY awesome! Make that BEYOND fantastic!_"  
Thanks! And trust me, I have no intention of stopping yet.  
P.S. Hmm... allow me to return the favor. I think you are referring to a feeling usually associated with an organ found in most living creatures. This organ usually is drawn very differently than what it actually looks like, and this different look has become a symbol for this specific feeling. Is that clear enough? Or should I say, unclear enough?  
P.S.S. Yes, in Skyrim you can customize your character by choosing various pre-built facial and racial options. For example, you can play as various Human and Elf races, a lizard like race called Argonians and a feline race called Khajiit. I chose a female Khajiit as my character. Why? Because Humans and Elves were too mainstream for my taste, and I didn't like the voice of the male Khajiit. (Fus... r'dah! instead of Fus... Ro Dah!) The male High Elf has a funny voice though, instead of 'Fus!' the High Elf says 'Foof!', or at least in the original Skyrim. The male Nord, for example, can shout 'TEA!' as the first word of the slow time shout, while the word is actually 'tiid'. So basically screaming 'tea!' slows time in Skyrim. It is a coinscidence that Orvus likes tea while also guarding time? We may never know...**

 **saviour of worlds: "** ** _Hey! Epilogue is being continued again! Which surprises me because you said you were going to focus on the other stories. BUT, I'm totally okay with that! :)  
Just as you said at the beginning of this chapter, there was going to be a lot of Photon cuteness, and there was. But I think the best part of all was the vault. I'm sure that the smile during dinner also said: "No regrets!".  
But because I'm pretty late with this, I'm just going to read through all of this until I've cached up with the story. See you later!_"  
Yeah, the series is back! Ironically, the longer I waited, the more I wanted to get back to writing this story again. And indeed, I doubt Photon has any regrets about eating all those cookies. See you later as well, I hope you've been enjoying the story by the time you see this, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well.  
**

* * *

Alcyone took a deep breath. "No." she said with a shaky voice. "No!" she then said, harder. "Never again!"

The Drophys arrived just in time to witness Alcyone grabbing her staff whilst giving them a death glare.

One second later the ground below the Drophyds' feet erupted like a volcano, completely obliterating the fish-like creatures. Alcyone let out a huge roar as lava began to burst out of the planet's surface, trapping the few survivors in a fiery vortex. "You should've left my family alone!" she screamed as the vortex collapsed into a huge bubble of lava that, after completely destroying anything and anyone inside (save for Alcyone and Simon), slowly seeped back into the planet.

Alcyone fell down to the ground and stared at the mess she had made. The area around her had been scorched, and a huge part of the forest had been destroyed.

Simon, who had quickly formed a protective bubble around himself, let said bubble fade away. "Okay, we need to work on that temper of yours."

"Temper? I never meant to cause so much destruction, and won't do anything like this ever again. What you just saw was me taking out years and years of built-up anger and sadness on those who had caused the pain, regardless of the fact that this is just a dream. It felt good to finally let it all out."

"I understand, although you must control yourself when we do this for real. Only the slightest mistake can alter time as we know it, which could lead to time breaking and ultimately, the universe being destroyed. You need to understand something very clearly: you may not harm the Drophyds. They may not even see you. Heck, once we return to our own time we must've worked so flawlessly that it would be as if we had never traveled back in time, save for the fact that your family will be waiting for us, asleep, healthy and in a secure location, when we return. Do you understand the plan?"

"Yes, I do." Alcyone replied. "But... now I'm really, really tired, which is weird because this is a dream. What's happening?"

"In a dream, sleep is reversed, ergo if you're feeling drowsy in a dream, it means your body is getting ready to wake up. That's my cue to get out of here, considering this world is about to be broken apart. All you need to do is lie down and close your eyes."

"What if you don't leave in time?"

"Oh, I'll be alright. Nothing will happen, I'll just wake up a bit more roughly than I'm used to considering I'll wake up instantly rather than slowly waking up. It's a good thing I've managed to get a few functions back online while you were having your little, uh, outburst, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do... _this_!"

A portal opened up behind Simon, and Alcyone could see a sky full of stars above a landscape covered in green. "What's that?" she asked.

Simon smiled as he stepped through the portal. "That's a story for another night."

Simon turned around, and began to walk. He'd still have a few minutes until dawn.

He looked around. This dream was a memory of a distant past, but a past he loved. He could hear voices in the distance, the voices of two children, and he laughed. He lay down on the grass. "I wish I could re-live that time again." he mumbled. "But I shouldn't dwell in the past. Instead I should fixate my gaze on the horizon and set sail for a better future."

And after mumbling those words, he fell into a deep sleep. Which meant that he slowly awakened from his dream.

Alcyone had beat him to it, however. When she woke up, she noticed that she was lying next to something. Her still half-asleep brains quickly recognized who, however.

Her cheeks turned bright red when she realized that she had been hugging Simon in her sleep. She quickly let go and got out of bed. "That was... awkward." she mumbled as she walked to the kitchen and made herself some tea.

Her half-asleep brains faintly recognized a voice. "Alcyone! Hey!"

She turned around. "Wuh?"

Angela was sitting at the kitchen table, smiling. "You're practically still sleeping, aren't you?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. How did you know?"

"One: you're still wearing your PJ's. Two: I had to call your name at least half a dozen times before your ears even twitched. I'm guessing that at least 70% of your brains are still in another world."

"Well, time to push 'em back to reality, huh?" Alcyone mumbled as she began to drink her tea, only to frown in confusion when Angela stopped her. "What?"

"You were about to drink my coffee." Angela said, barely able to keep herself from laughing out loud.

"Then... where's my tea?"

Angela couldn't hold back her laughter anymore, and Alcyone realized that she had been holding her cup of tea all along in her left hand. She quickly began to drink the tea before any other embarrassing things happened.

"Will you stop laughing?" she asked Angela as she stopped drinking for a moment. "Don't tell me you've never done any embarrassing things while _you_ were still half-asleep?"

Angela stopped laughing. "Oh, more things than you can count. I used to be really clumsy too, DNA flaw, but it's fixed now. So I used to do embarrassing stuff all the time."

Alcyone shrugged. "Welp, the long dress I was wearing when you guys first met me used to make me trip all the time. Does that count?"

* * *

Simon gritted his teeth as he finished something he had been working on for a while now. He was so focused on his work in fact that he jumped when Alcyone popped behind him. "Whoops, I didn't mean to scare you!" she quickly apologized.

"No, no, it's okay. You've got excellent timing to be honest, would you like to help me test this new invention of mine?"

"What does it do?"

"Just hold still." Simon said as he grabbed a tablet from a workbench and began to tap on the screen like nobody's business. Meanwhile Photon was lying lazily on the workbench, wondering what his friend had come up with this time.

Alcyone noticed several dots appearing on her skin. "What is-"

"Don't move!" Simon quickly said.

"But what is going on?"

"This device here is making a full-3d digital model of you including clothing, because it is about to construct something for you that should be worn over your clothing."

"What is it about to make?"

The machine beeped and Simon placed the tablet back on the workbench. He opened up a panel on the side of the machine and pulled out some weird golden claw-like apparatus. He put it on, and Alcyone saw that it was actually worn over the user's torso and what she'd assumed to be some sort of claw was in fact a protective network of golden-colored titanium.

Simon pulled out another, smaller version of whatever he was wearing and handed it to Alcyone. She put it on, wondering what it did.

Simon pressed a button on the panel placed over his chest, and he pressed the same button on Alcyone's harness. Suddenly a black suit was teleported over their skin, excluding their heads. "What just happened?" Alcyone asked.

"It's a protective suit. It will protect you from various hazards like toxic and radiation, and it also includes a thermal regulator for super-hot and super-cold environments."

"Yes, yes, but what is it?"

"An exo-suit." Simon said as he pressed another button on his exosuit before pressing the same button on Alcyone's exosuit as well. An airtight helmet deployed around their heads, Alcyone's version including room for her ears.

"This suit also contains a rebreather in case you're wondering. It allows you to explore various alien worlds as well as outer space without having to worry about any danger. Keep in mind though that taking off your helmet does leave your head vulnerable, but you can't remove your helmet in unsafe environments anyways and it will auto-equip whenever you need it. You can remove the exo-suit and the helmet whenever you want by repeating how you deployed them in the first place, though this only works in safe environments. But there is one thing that I really wanted to show you."

Simon walked off, Alcyone following him. As they were walking to wherever Simon wanted to go, Alcyone removed her helmet as it was getting a bit warm. Alcyone realized that they were walking to the balcony of Simon's room, and once they reached the balcony, she gasped as Simon climbed onto the railing.

But before she could pull him back down, he jumped off. "Simon!" she yelled as she ran to the railing, only to hear a loud laugh and a scream of excitement. Alcyone frowned when she saw Simon flying around using a pair of robotic glider-like wings. "How did you do that?!" she yelled after him.

"Just jump off!" Simon yelled.

Alcyone took a deep breath, and jumped over the railing, only to feel her wings deploy and suddenly she was gliding. "I bet you can't catch me!" Simon yelled as he wrapped his wings around himself and shot forward like a bullet. "We'll see." Alcyone mumbled as she began to fly faster and faster.

After a while she realized Simon was actually flying around the island, and instead of focusing on catching up to him, she began to enjoy the scenery. From the forest-covered hills to the glowing caves and crystal-clear underground lakes. Alcyone laughed, she could feel the wind blowing on her face and through her hair, a warm summer breeze that she welcomed with open arms. Her suit had deployed a rebreather through to help her breathe, which was next to impossible considering she was traveling at high speeds.

Eventually they landed back at Simon's house, on the same balcony that they had jumped off of. Simon's exo-suit had already vanished when Alcyone landed, and soon she removed hers as well. After just the push of a button the suit retracted into the golden harness. "We're back at just the right time, it's about time to lunch." Simon said. Let me just store this thing somewhere safe and I'll make everyone some sandwiches."

"Sounds awesome, but what do I do with this thing?" Alcyone asked as she took off the golden harness.

"It's yours, do with it whatever you like. If it gets damaged or stops working entirely, let me know and I'll make you a new one."

"That's really nice of you." Alcyone said with a smile as she left the room.

After safely storing the exo-suit, Simon went to look for Photon. Unsurprisingly he found the cat on the workbench, asleep. "Lazybones." Simon chuckled as he picked up the cat and carried him to his bed. He had made a bed for Photon in his own room, across from his own bed. This was because, despite being courageous at times, Photon was a bit shy and didn't like being alone.

Thankfully he had the gift of immortality, just like Photon, and Simon would be there for his friend for as long as he'd live, which, by the looks of things, would be very long.

* * *

"So... what was your dream about?" Alcyone asked that night as they practiced saving her family a second time, but with less overkill this time. "The dream you had last night?"

Simon smiled. "Well, it's... it's very personal."

Simon checked his watch, which was running backwards here. "We still have some time. I could show you my dream if you'd like."

"Yes please."

A portal opened up and they walked through. Alcyone looked around. They were on a hill covered in grass, and she could see the outskirts of a massive city behind her. It was a few minutes before dawn, and although the horizon was getting brighter, countless stars could still be seen. The taller buildings of the vast and elegant city were already golden in the glow of the morning sun. The streetlights were off, and no sound could be heard save for the chirping of some birds in the distance and the rustling of grass caught in a morning breeze.

It was cool, but it wasn't cold, and something told Alcyone that a beautiful day would follow. She looked around more. In the distance she could see a forest of exotic-looking trees with snowy mountains in the distance. It was absolutely beautiful.

She turned to Simon, who was sitting on a rock, watching the golden glow on the horizon. "Where are we?" she asked.

Simon said nothing. It was almost as if he was waiting for something. Then he looked past Alcyone, at something behind her. She turned around. Two small figures were running up the hill, and Alcyone saw that one of them had large Lombax-like ears.

The two figures lay down in the grass not too far from their position. Simon stood up and sat down again on a rock closer to the two figures. When they got closer, Alcyone saw that it were in fact two children.

One of them looked like a younger version of Simon, while the other looked like a younger version of Ratchet. The two children were staring at the stars. "Where would your home be amongst those stars, Simon?" the Lombax child asked.

"My home is here, Kay." young Simon replied with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I mean your home planet."

"This is my home planet."

"You still don't get it. I mean the home planet of your race."

"Oh. Well, who knows? I don't have any intentions of going back soon though."

"Why not?"

"Well... I had a really rough time there, therefore I've grown tired of my own race. I'm much more happy here. Now I even have a family."

"You didn't have a family?"

"No. Not that I know of, at least. I have no memory of any relatives. I... I don't know if I'd want to meet them. I mean, what if my family is evil, assuming that I have a biological family somewhere?"

Kaden shrugged. "Point. Still, don't you wonder?"

"Of course I do. But I don't do it too much. I shouldn't dwell too much on what could've been."

Kaden laughed. "You sound so old, you know that?"

"Perhaps I am old, I don't know. I know barely anything about myself. But that doesn't bother me, I know who I want to be."

Kaden nodded. "The stars are really bright, aren't they?"

"Indeed, they are. They're what we came for, right?"

Kaden grinned. "Not really. Get up, it's time."

The two children got up. "Look." Kaden said as he pointed at the golden glow on the horizon. And just as Kaden pointed at the horizon, the sun began to rise. "It's beautiful." young Simon and Alcyone whispered at the same time.

"I know, right?" Kaden replied, totally unaware of the two older beings watching them.

"You know... I wish we could stay kids forever sometimes." young Simon replied. "Just this age, when everything is perfect."

"Do you really want that?" Kaden replied. "Do you really not care about the things waiting in the future?"

"Hmm... that's something I need to think about."

"Typical, you're always thinking." Kaden said with a grin. "But do you truly have brains?"

Young Simon grinned back. "If I wouldn't have brains, then how do I know your weak spot?"

"Weak spot?"

"En garde!" young Simon yelled as he jumped at Kaden and began to tickle him.

Simon smiled as the two children and their laughter slowly faded away, until one last laugh echoed through the area.

Simon finally spoke up. "That happened... about forty years ago. Kaden and I used to go here every Saturday morning, our way of closing off the week and beginning the weekend. What you've just seen happened only one week after I first came to this planet."

Simon turned to Alcyone. "We're on Fastoon, the home planet of the Lombax race. What you are seeing behind you is one of Fastoon's largest city's, and one that I considered my home for various years. I first landed on this planet when I was about seven years old. Perhaps a better term is 'crashed', the ship I'd made drilled into the surface of the planet. Kaden found me and brought me to his home. Kaden's parents took me in, and after a week, decided to adopt me. Kaden is more than a friend to me, he's my family. That's why I care so deeply about Ratchet, he's practically family. That's also why I'll protect him with my life, if something happens to him I swear I'll tear this universe asunder until he's back on his feet, and trust me, you've still not seen the full amount of power I can wield. The Golden Guardian is a step in the right direction, but I can grow yet stronger."

Simon cleared his throat. "But that aside. I grew up on this world, Fastoon. It used to be a desert-like planet, hence why the natural fur color of a Lombax is golden, it used to be camouflage, but as the Lombaxes grew more intelligent, camouflage was no longer necessary. They began to introduce various kinds of life to the planet, and soon various exotic trees began to grow here. Fastoon became a safe haven for various rare species of plants and animals alike. It was beautiful.

What you've just seen is a memory of my childhood, one of the memories I cherish most. I'll never forget the good times Kaden and I had. Anyhow, it wasn't long after I landed here that Kaden introduced me to a good friend of his, Alister Azimuth was his name. They had been friends since kindergarten. I became a good friend of Alister too, and we stayed friends forever.

But then the Cragmite came. Nobody trusted him but Alister, and Alister was naive enough to grant him full access to the Lombax technology, ultimately causing the downfall of the Lombax species.

I was on my way to Fastoon to celebrate Ratchet's first birthday when Tachyon attacked. I wasn't able to do much, because I was too late for that, but I was able to help bring Ratchet to safety. I remember staring at the landscape from this exact same spot a few hours after the attack. Most of the fires had died out, but..."

The world around them began to change. The city, once vast and elegant, had been reduced to rubble. The once blue sky was dusty and red because of the fire and the ash blown into the atmosphere. Due to the polluted atmosphere, the golden sun was now blood red.

The grass and forests were gone, all that remained were a few dead trees. The mountains and hills were all gone, instead it was as if a titanic knife had carved through the landscape. Alcyone stared at the destruction with a dropped jaw. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "This... this is terrible!"

"Indeed. Thankfully I have undone all of the damage. This is what this spot looks like right now."

The world around them changed again. The forests were back, and some of the cracks had been turned into rivers. A huge crater had been turned into a lake surrounded by golden beaches, and the city was the way it used to be. Add to that, there was now a moon in the sky.

It was green and had a blue atmosphere, and cities could be seen lighting up the dark side of the moon.

"It's beautiful how you've restored this planet to it's former glory." Alcyone said.

Simon nodded. "Tell me, didn't you say Vehena was destroyed?"

"Yes. It was shattered into a trillion pieces."

"Where did this occur, and when?"

"I don't know where." Alcyone truthfully replied.

Simon nodded. "Can you show me a memory of you, one at night?"

Alcyone nodded. A portal opened up and the two friends stepped into a memory of Alcyone this time. A younger version of Alcyone was sitting in a tree, watching the stars twinkle at night. It seemed as if she had been crying.

"My mother had died that morning." Alcyone explained. "I couldn't sleep, so I watched the stars instead."

Simon nodded. As sad as the memory was, he was here for the stars. "Let's see..." he mumbled.

"I can see ten galaxies, as well as Veneha's home galaxy. That's excellent, it should allow me to pinpoint the average location of the planet within it's home galaxy in a radius of a few thousand lightyears." Simon explained. Alcyone laughed. "You can stop explaining, I don't follow. You just find out what you need to find out."

Simon nodded. "I see B12, A7, K9... judging by the spectrum of the stars, I can pinpoint the location of Vehena specifically. What I've learned so far is that Vehena seems to have been located in the Polaris Galaxy, in the Cerullean sector if I'm correct. When we wake up I should be able to pinpoint the exact location."

"How?"

"I can pinpoint how far away the brightest stars in Vehena's sky are, and I can log their spectrum. This gives me a 3D model showing a few stars, and in this model Vehena should be at the center. I can scan Polaris Galaxy to see where this group of stars appears, and if we're unlucky I should get a maximum of about ten hits. Could you also show me a daytime memory?"

Alcyone did as she was asked, showing the memory of the Drophyd attack. Simon analyzed the spectrum of Vehena's parent star. "Hmm... Class G2 V, estimated age... yes, I can search for this exact star as well. It's about time to wake up, so I will return to my own dream then proceed to return to the real world. I'll meet you there." Simon said as a portal back to Fastoon appeared. Simon stepped through, and the portal vanished.

* * *

Angela and Ratchet were eating breakfast while talking about their adventures, and Alcyone was just making breakfast when Simon came running in. "I've got it! Haha, I found it!"

"Uuh... you okay?" Ratchet asked.

"Yes, better than ever. Alcyone, I've found Vehena. It used to orbit the star Pacentium in the Cerullean sector. Meet me at the hangar in an hour, I've got something to show you."

* * *

As Alcyone walked into the hangar, she didn't find Simon, but Hypernova waiting for her. Before she could even open her mouth to ask what was going on, a bubble of cyan energy formed around her, and Hypernova began to fly out of the hangar, the bubble following him. After leaving the atmosphere of Custos behind, they began to fly much, much faster until everything went by in a blur.

Suddenly, they began to slow, and Alcyone could see a golden star in the distance that kept getting brighter and brighter. Suddenly, they shot past a planet, a huge, purple gas giant with glowing pink rings. "Stop!" Alcyone yelled, and they stopped almost immediately.

Alcyone stared at the gas giant, it's rings and it's moons. "I... I think this is Fulgeo, the outermost planet. Until now all I ever saw of it was a small pink dot though."

"Any other planets you want to see?"

"All of them, if possible."

The next planet they flew past was reddish-brown with a pink atmosphere. "Erugo." Alcyone immediately said. Then they flew past a yellow planet with a green atmosphere. "Venenxicum."

Then they flew on for a while, until they ultimately reached the innermost planet, a deep brown gas giant. "Ardens." Alcyone said. "So that's what my home solar system looks like. I never saw the planets from up-close."

Hypernova stayed silent. "The names of the planets... is that ancient Lombax?"

"It's the language I spoke at home. I was taught Cerinian by the Cerinians, and Polaris Standard... I don't know why, I suddenly knew the language when I first met you."

"That must've been your staff's doing. But I think I can decode the names... Fulgeo... shine?"

"Correct."

"Let's see... Erugo, that translates to 'rust' if I'm correct."

"Indeed, and Venenxicum?"

"That's a combination of venenum and toxicum, meaning poison and toxic respectively."

"Very good! And lastly, Ardens?"

"Burning."

"Correct! But can you also decode Vehena's name?"

"That's not ancient Lombax, but I think I can decode it. Something tells me the name holds a secret. But that's not what I wanted to show you." Hypernova said as they flew to where Vehena used to be. Suddenly, time seemed to rewind itself, they were traveling countless years into the past. Hypernova also created a special veil around them that prevented anyone from seeing them or noticing their presence in any way.

And suddenly, pieces of rock shot past them, forming...

Alcyone gasped. It was like her planet's destruction, but reversed. Then time stopped going in reverse and froze instead. Then time sped up, and Alcyone was forced to watch the planet be torn asunder again. Time reverted and sped up again and again, and Alcyone was forced to watch the destruction again and again. "Why are you doing this?!" she eventually screamed.

"Calm down. I am not trying to torment you, I am noting where every single rock on the planet flies off to when the planet is destroyed so that I can put it back together in the present in such a state that it would be as if nothing had happened."

Suddenly, time stopped reverting and kept speeding up until they had reached the present again. "Alright, that's all I needed to know. Let's go home, I'll start on calculating the location of every piece of the planet. Shouldn't be too difficult."

Alcyone took a deep breath. "Alright then."

* * *

 **Okay, and that was chapter 4. Now that school has given me the most terrible schedule I've ever seen, I have very little time to write, so future chapters may take longer to arrive. Needless to say I'll be discussing this schedule with my teacher, this schedule is just outrageous.  
**

 **Another announcement that I wanted to make: I'm considering to let some OC's from Epilogue two show up again, if only for a brief moment. If you'd like your own OC to make another brief appearance, just let me know!  
**

 **Also, it still stands: chocolate chip cookies for the first person who finds out what's happening in the background right now, and cookies for the first person to decode Vehena's name.**


	5. A Reforged World

**I'm back! After some informing at school, I've learned three things:**

 **One - not just me, but my entire class got screwd.**

 **Two - I'm gonna be stuck to that schedule for a while now.**

 **Three - my class is the only class with such a terrible schedule.**

 **Four - screw school entirely. Thanks to school, I can't plan stuff like doctor's appointments or a visit to the dentist outside of school hours BECAUSE MY ENTIRE AFTERNOON IS GONE. So f*ck it, I'm just gonna plan appointments without paying any attention to my schedule until it changes. School didn't pay attention to the fact that I have a life too, either.**

 **Thankfully, there's one thing that keeps me going, and that's writing. Hearing all of your positive feedback and reading all of your support, just... thank you guys. Thank you so much!**

* * *

 **Reviews**

 **Destiny W: "** ** _This was a great chapter, I loved it. And don't worry about the next time you will be able to update, you got a lot of stuff going on with school. I understand. : )_ "  
Thank you so much, both for the feedback and for understanding! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.**

 **Jadzia Ezri Dax: "** ** _Again, amazing chapter and I hope to see new chapters very soon! I love how you expressed the close relationship between Simon and Kaden. It was a wonderful scene in this chapter.  
P. S. When I get Skyrim, I think I'll play as a female Khajiit, which makes sense since I love cats and I'm a girl... anyway, as for the guess for what I was thinking, I'm sure you got the right idea of what I was thinking was going on in the background.  
P. S. S. I would like my OC to appear at least a teeny tiny bit in the story, but you're the writer, so you decide. I don't mind if she doesn't appear.  
P. S. S. S. Getting sleepy in a dream means you're ready to wake up in the real world? I never actually thought of that..._"  
Thank you! Yeah, I wanted to put in some moments of Simon's past, and I think I made a good choice regarding the setting of the first 'moment'! I'm not saying that there will be more of those moments, simply because I cannot yet say at this point. It's likely though.  
P.S. Alright! But if you're correct... we'll just have to wait and see, I suppose. And every race has their own abilities. Khajiit are more mobile and can see better in the dark. They also have claws, which gives them a +30% damage boost when fighting unarmed. This damage boost stacks with enchantments, too. Therefore, when playing as a Khajiit, it may be a good idea to use your claws first, considering they're more effective than most of the weapons early in the game.  
P.S.S. Alright then! I'll have to figure out a good moment though.  
P.S.S.S. I actually wanted Alcyone to feel exhausted after that massive attack, only to realize: getting exhausted in a dream? How would that work? And thus I came up with the 'reverse sleep', or something like that, not sure if I gave it a name. Anyways, enjoy!**

 **Max Chronicle: "** ** _"Here," (Hands over a R.Y.N.O. IV) "now go fix your school problems."  
That's relieving to hear. Yeah, 1, 2 and 3's sharks are the worst. (Scary Level... 9000)  
That's makes sense. Because, beside the ripped lawn cord, the Dimensionator was totally fine; new three and three quarter cubit hexagonal washer and all.  
And another word more potent than spiz... (takes a breath) I'll think about it.  
Vehena? Is the answer "give up"? Hope I'm right and the first person to get it.  
Shine  
Rust  
Poison  
Toxic  
Burning  
Give up  
Nope... I have no clue what could possibly be going on. Keep up the good work and I'll see you whenever the next update is.  
Max out_"  
Well, no matter how angry I am about this whole situation, let's not go a bit overboard and grab a weapon so powerful that it's outlawed... okay, for some people (I'm looking at you, Tachyon!) I'll make an exception. And I personally found those Sharks so unnerving! On my first playthrough of R&C 1, how old was I, eight or something? Doesn't matter, on my first playthrough, on Umbris, I checked every basin over fifteen times before refilling it. I hated those sharks. But hey, Ratchet has Simon watching over him, one of those ugly little buggers dares to see Ratchet as a snack and... well... I'll let you figure out the rest. And the dimensionator... you actually tore a hole in time with that thing, it took Clank an hour or so to fix. Still, I think he has an idea as to why you tried to use it, so he doesn't mind. And it's not 'give up'. Simon gave a big hint: it's in the name. And there is only one positive thing about all of those free periods, I have time to write, considering my PC is a laptop, and I use it at school too. I'm not worried about anyone trying to steal it, if anyone is stupid enough I can remotely access my computer, track it down, snap a picture of the thief with the webcam and even send a message to my PC to tell the thief to smile for the camera. Add to that that I'm keeping a close eye on the thing, so I'm not worried. But yeah, I can write, and I got my earphones with me too, and I bought the Undertale soundtrack, so... I'll live. Still, curse you school!**

 **saviour of worlds: "** ** _This chapter was very... informative... we got to know a lot more about Simon's backstory. which I find rather complicated... I love it! mysteries, mysteries and more mysteries! Let's hope that those secrets will be revealed in the future... PS: Simon's house is awesome._ "  
If there's something you don't understand, just let me know and I'll try to explain it. If it doesn't spoil anything, that is. And yeah, I made his house as awesome as I could, and I'm glad I succeeded!**

 **Falcy: "** _ **First, Simon built the planet he and the others are staying on (AUGH! Can't remember what name it was! xD), Simon giving out a house tour, which NOW reveals DREAMPODS?! Holy snap do I really wish they exist in real life. That would be so COOL! Anyhoo, keep it up!**_

 ** _P.S. I actually have a question for Simon that had been in the back of my head since Alcyone came in. Is he in LOVE with her? Just sayin'!_**  
 ** _P.S.S. *gasps* YOU HAVE LITTLE BIG PLANET TOO?! HOLY SNAAP! You see, the first lbp game we got was lbp2 (AND it was a SPECIAL edition!) along with R &C:A4O with the PS3. We actually bought the third one, however it didn't allow us (my sister, iyw) to use the items that came from the packs given in the SECOND game! It really is annoying when there are limits, huh?_"  
It's name was 'Custos', that name holds a secret as well. And those dreampods are actually based off of something that exists in real life. When people dream, they may realize that they are in fact dreaming, and can take control. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, you've got your own little universe for a night. I find the thought so amazing that I had to make something that gives this power for a seemingly unlimited amount of time.  
P.S.S. Indeed, I have LittleBigPlanet, all three games of them to be honest. And I can tell you why you can't bring over the DLC, you bought the special edition of LBP2, and with the special edition, the DLC is actually on the disk and thus not registered to your PSN account. I know it's stupid, but that's why. I personally bought the Marvel DLC, and the problem with that is that when you re-download your DLC on the PS4, you have to download it from the PS Store. It may be free, but some idiot at Sony removed the Marvel DLC, making it impossible to redownload. This problem also exists with various skins. I sent Sony an e-mail about this, but all I got in return was some sort of weird message, as if Sony thought I had lost my login info. NO SONY THAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM! (Also, I have A4O too!) Also, I have LBP3 for the PS3, but I bought the PS4 version too after I bought the console. And I must say... Sumo Digital, why do you hate this game so much? Every update breaks it more! I honestly wish Media Molecule was still in charge... oh well.  
P.S. Simon: "Oh, uh... erm... well... uh... that's quite a question, huh? I'm actually a bit overwhelmed." So overwhelmed apparently that he can't answer right away, he's still quite surprised by that question. If the answer is yes, I can't tell. But what about Alcyone herself? Do you think she likes Simon? Anyhow, perhaps you'll find something in this chapter, who knows. Enjoy!**

* * *

Simon spent the majority of the day in his lab, calculating various trajectories and puzzling out the location of every piece of Vehena. It's atmosphere was impossible to find, but he could always add it himself.

Photon was with him as well. He was lazily lying on the workbench, doing not much other than interrupting Simon when it was lunchtime. "You're right, pal." Simon said. "I should take a break. You coming?"

After lunch, he got right back to work, and soon enough most of the planet had been puzzled together. While the computer was calculating, Simon took a moment to think about the planet's name. " _Vehena... vehena... do the letters correspond to numbers and form an equation or something... no, that's not it. Perhaps it's the order of the letters? Anehev? No... Enhave? No.._ "

Photon brushed his tail against Simon's leg, and nodded toward the computer. "Oh, it's done calculating. Thanks, Photon." Simon said, reaching down and petting the cat. Photon purred in response.

"Well, Photon, meet planet Vehena." Simon said as he typed in a few commands, and suddenly, a hologram was projected into the room.

It was simply magnificent. "Wow!" Simon said. "Photon, since you're faster than me, could you bring Alcyone here? She needs to see this, she can point out any things I may have missed."

Photon nodded. The cat took a step backwards, before suddenly sprinting off at an incredible speed, he'd be able to overtake jet planes with ease. A few minutes later, Photon came sprinting back in, a tired Alcyone following him. Seeing the hologram, she panted and sat down on one of the workbenches. "Hang on a moment, I... I'm just gonna take five."

"Allow me." Simon said as Final Eclipse formed. He pointed the sword at Alcyone, and a beam of light came shooting out of the tip. When it hit Alcyone, she felt better than ever. "Thanks." she said. "Anyhow, is that what I think it is?"

"That's all of the pieces I've found put together. The cause of the planet's destruction seems to have been a class H planet buster, if it'd been anything stronger, finding all the pieces would've been much more work. But a class H? That leaves big chunks, so piecing it back together will be much easier, too. Actually, there's something I'd like you to take a look at."

A portal opened up, showing empty space. Simon transformed into Hypernova and flew through. After a few seconds, he flew into view again, pushing a chunk of rock the size of a continent to a location far, far away from the portal. He kept flying back and forth, carrying huge chunks of rock, until suddenly, the pieces of rock began to move.

Hypernova flew to the portal for a moment. "And now the fun begins." he said before moving aside so Alcyone and Photon could see the planet reform. Hypernova raised his arm, and the pieces of rock began to fall into place. Alyone's jaw dropped as her home planet was being rebuilt before her eyes.

When all of the rock had been put back together, however, Hypernova began to intensify gravity, crushing the planet.

The surface began to glow, as the edges of the rocky plates began to melt. Hypernova stopped immediately, the planet had been welded back together. But it still was a dead ball of rock so far. "Now, let's make this world beautiful again!"

Hypernova began to build up energy. He raised his hand, and comets came flying in from the outer solar system. Hypernova crused the hundreds of comets together inside a cyan forcefield, then superheated it, turning it into water. Meanwhile, Hypernova released the built-up energy by creating an atmosphere around the planet with his own power, turning energy into matter.

The second the atmosphere was done, the oceans were added, and with a huge splash, they reclaimed their territory. Hypernova flew back to the portal and suddenly pulled Alcyone through, into a protective bubble. He brought her to just above the planet's atmosphere.

Alcyone stared down at Vehena, it looked almost the same, except the forests were gone. "That's up to you." Hypernova said. "Take your staff, and let your love for this planet make it habitable once more."

Alcyone grabbed her staff, and closed her eyes. She thought of all of the good times she had on the planet. Swimming in the lake, birthdays, playing in the forest, watching the stars, her family...

The staff began to glow, and slowly, Vehena began to turn green. "Whatever you're doing, don't stop, it's working." Hypernova said. Alcyone opened her eyes, and when she saw what was happening, she laughed. Her joy multiplied the staff's power instantly. "The more effort you put into this, the more beautiful this planet will become." Hypernova said.

"Could... could you help me?"

"I have no memories of this planet, so I cannot."

"Don't help the planet, help _me_."

"I get it." Hypernova said, charging up power. He kept building up power until he shifted into overdrive mode, before he even transformed into quasar mode. And then he directed all of his power at Alcyone. She began to glow, and the staff's power went through the roof. Vehena turned green instantly. "Stop." Hypernova suddenly said, cutting off the staff's power.

"Why did you stop?"

"We're done."

"Can we... can we go take a look?"

"Sure."

Hypernova flew down into the atmosphere, the protective bubble carrying Alcyone following him. Once they landed, Hypernova transformed back into Simon. Simon took a deep breath. "Wonderful." he said.

Alcyone was speechless. The forests were green, and even pink in some places. Leaves and petals flew past, caught in a morning breeze. Rivers of crystal-clear water were also present. The mountains up ahead were breathtaking, and Alcyone could see a huge waterfall in the distance. "Come." Simon said. "I even managed to pinpoint the location on the planet where your home used to be."

"How?!"

"Constellations. If you pay close attention, light can tell many things."

"But, eh... how are we going to get to the other side of the planet?"

"I've got something for you." Simon said, as a Lombaxian Starship landed behind him. The ship was white, with a blue nose and four blue wings (note: like Aphelion in ToD), and it had golden stripes running over it, like the stripes on a Lombax' ears. "It's beautiful." Alcyone said as she ran a hand over the ship's nose. "Why, thank you!" the ship replied with a female voice. Alcyone jumped a bit.

"It's a Lombax ship, I had it made on Fastoon, too. I'd like to give you the honor of naming it."

Alyone thought for a moment. "I'll name it Constellation, or 'Stella' for short."

"Name noted." the ship, now called Constellation, said.

"I'll teach you to fly later." Simon said as he sat down in the passenger seat. "For now, just let the ship fly, it's more than capable of doing some things on auto-pilot. Constellation, could you take us to location 25-33 on this planet?"

"Certainly." the ship replied as Alcyone fastened her seatbelt. The ship flew off, flying over forests, lakes, rivers, mountains, it was breathtaking. Then it reached a clearing that Alcyone recognized. "That tree over there... me and my sisters built a treehouse there!"

Simon nodded. "I'm afraid that'll have to be redone. Wood doesn't do well in space, you see. In fact, this tree is here because I planted it myself while you were busy up there making the whole planet habitable. I just planted the seeds and let your energy raise it."

"But you were behind me the whole time?!"

"The whole time... minus 0.0000003 seconds. Lightspeed."

"Oh, I see. Wait, how did you know that there used to be a treehouse here?"

"I could see it in the distance, in your dream."

"But we camouflaged it so well!"

"Yes, but I can see through most camouflages with ease. There's something else though, yesterday evening I went back in time again and checked out the treehouse myself. Turns out Electra and Maia hid here during the attack."

"What happened?"

"The tree was burned down."

Alcyone nearly fainted. "Calm down." Simon said. "We'll save them. Since that occurred in the past, you can already say that we saved them. Because technically, we already did, it's years after we saved them, although we have yet to go back in time. What a paradox, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Quite. Though... I can't imagine what the two must've gone through."

Simon frowned. He still remembered how Electra had desperately wrapped her arms around her infant sister to protect her, but to no avail. He wouldn't tell Alcyone what he'd seen, she'd have a heart attack. He also wouldn't tell her that he couldn't stand the thought of two children burning to death, and had already saved those two. They were currently in hypersleep in a secure location.

"Simon? Hello?"

Simon shook his head. "Sorry, I was a little lost in thought. What's up?"

"We're here."

As they climbed out of Constellation, Alcyone grabbed her staff. Something was missing.

I suppose my home didn't survive either?"

"Nope." Simon said. "But objects can be rebuilt. And I think you're already planning on getting your house back."

Alcyone nodded. Her staff began to glow, but then the glow faded. "What's wrong?" Simon asked.

She shook her head. "Maybe it's better this way. After everything that happened here... I wouldn't blame my family if they'd want to find a new place to live after all of this. We've never explored the planet that much as far as I can remember, so we never had the urge to move."

"What always puzzled me, were you the only people living on Vehena at the time?"

"Apparently. We never saw any ships or anything, so I was surprised to say the least when Max' brick of metal could actually fly off the planet."

"Then how do you know my language? Or rather, how did your parents know this language, Galactic Standard?"

"I wasn't raised with this language. The Cerinians have their own language, too. But strangely, I understood them. For some reason, I just knew the language."

Simon frowned. "Back on Cerinia, you spoke first. How could you have known my language?"

Then he chuckled. "Of course. Your staff."

"That explains a lot." she replied. "To be honest, I still have trouble believing some of the things this staff can do. The same goes for you, I still can't fully comprehend the things you're capable of."

"That's no surprise, I sometimes wonder about it myself too. It's hard to comprehend that we're both wielding a weapon capable of breaking the laws of physics. And don't even get me started on the Hypernova suit."

"How was that created by the way?"

"Built it myself."

"How?"

"Well, that's a long story. Kaden, Alister and I once went on a camping trip, but while there, we witnessed pirates executing innocent witnesses. Kaden and Alister advised me to let it go, there's nothing we could've done, but I couldn't let it go. It was too unfair, it just wasn't right. That moment I swore that I'd protect the innocent until my very last breath."

"Then... shouldn't you be very, very busy?"

"Not really, there are more heroes out there, you know. Heroes like Ratchet. Looking at him, would you guess that he has saved multiple galaxies and even the universe once numerous times?"

"Really?"

"Yep. I was keeping an eye on him though. Whenever Ratchet died, I'd rewind time and prevent that attack from landing. I'd lost Kaden, but by the Zoni, I wouldn't lose his son too."

Alcyone nodded. She sat down on a rock. "So... are you still protecting the innocent?"

"I operate from the shadows mostly, like you said, my powers are often too incredible to comprehend. Plus, the second some bad guy catches wind of my powers, they'll try to replicate them for their own evil plans."

"Like Black Hole?"

"Bull's eye."

"Well... you called him 'Derrick'. Who was he?"

Simon sat down as well. "That's a very long story. When I brought the Lombax race back to this dimension, I was fighting Black Hole as well. Because he's a clone of Hypernova, the two were evenly matched, and thus I decided to self-destruct, because: how would you stop yourself? Everyone believed that I had been killed in the explosion, but-"

"But Hypernova's a robotic avatar."

"Yep. I used the moment to get back into the shadows and stayed there. If Black Hole was indeed a clone, then he'd be an avatar as well, so I had to come up with a plan. The thing is though, if you're a copycat like Black Hole, you can't come up with stuff yourself, you copy it. I had my intelligence, he could only copy. I successfully predicted that he'd copy Hypernova again and he did, but this time I was ready. I made quick work of him, forcing _him_ back to the drawing table. In the meantime, I had also looked into Black Hole however. There was something weird about him, how can you clone something that nobody but me knew existed? Only I and Kaden knew about it."

"That is indeed strange. Did you think-"

"No, Kaden would rather take a bullet to the head than stab me in the back. The opposite is true too, I would never betray him either. But did you know that the material that Hypernova is made of was discovered by accident?"

"No."

"Allow me to explain. Many, many years ago, even before Ratchet was born, I was living on Fastoon. I was a respected scientist back then, and thus one Professor Cryx asked me if I could create element 150. I accepted, but when I found out that element 150 was indestructible, I kept the discovery a secret. Because imagine what would happen if it'd be made public that an indestructible material had been created? An immense chaos would follow, unstoppable villains would arise, endless wars would break out, I couldn't let that happen. However, the first time I fought Black Hole was countless years ago, when Hypernova was still in development. At the time, he was wearing a cloak rather than a clone of the suit. I could only see his eyes. That empty stare, I had seen it before.

Using the dream pods I've shown you, I was able to go back to the day I met professor Cryx, and guess what?"

"No way!"

"Yes. Professor Cryx was Black Hole in disguise. He knew the properties of element 150, but he didn't want anyone to know either. He wanted to be the only invincible villain, he didn't want some amateur bad guy running off with 'his' power. And thus he asked me, one of the most brilliant people on the planet, to do the hard work for him. When we first fought, he must've known that I had lied to him, and that element 150 was in fact possible to make. And that's how the Black Hole you know was born.

But Professor Cryx wasn't the first time Derrick and I met."

Simon stopped talking.

"Please go on." Alcyone pleaded.

"I'll tell you the full story, but not now. It's getting late, we should be heading home for dinner."

Alcyone nodded. "I understand."

* * *

When they arrived home, Simon went to Ratchet and Angela's room, only to learn that the two had already made dinner for themselves together. "We didn't know when you two would be returning, so we decided not to make anything for you two." Ratchet explained.

"I understand. Besides, cooking is the most delicious form of chemistry, so..." Simon replied. He walked to the kitchen, where Alcyone was already browsing through a recipe book out of curiosity.

"Ratchet and Angela already had dinner." he said.

"Oh. Guess that leaves only us, then."

"And Photon." Simon said.

"Nope, I found Photon sleeping on the couch in the living room, I brought him to your room."

"Oh. In that case, indeed, only us two then."

Simon grabbed a pan and a spatula. "You can make yourself comfortable in the living room or something, I'll call you when I'm done."

"But why would I? It's much more fun to cook, so may I help you?"

"Well, uh, sure!"

"Alright then, what can I do?"

"What would you like to do?"

Then Alcyone had an idea. "What if we'd turn this into a little contest, we both make something for the other."

"Well, challenge accepted, let's do it!"

* * *

"Alright, done. How are you doing?" Simon asked.

"Aaaand... finished." Alcyone replied.

"Alright." Simon said as he put a plate full of food down on the table. "Bon appetit."

"Huh?"

"It's 'enjoy your meal' in one of the languages spoken on the planet my race is native to."

"Oh." Alcyone said with a laugh. Then her smile faded. "I feel you're avoiding the words 'home world'."

"True."

"Why?"

"Well, read some of the news on said planet, depression guaranteed. Most of the time newspapers are full of arguments and articles of people hurting each other. It hurts, thats why I'd rather not think about it too much."

"Oh... anyways..." Alcyone said as she put a plate full of food on the table as well. "So, what did you make?"

"It's a surprise." Simon said. He had placed a metal bowl over the plate so she couldn't see it.

"Hmm..." Alcyone said as she sat down and lifted the metal bowl. Placing it aside, she stared at fer food. "What is this?"

"Don't judge until you eat it."

Alcyone grabbed a knife and a fork. The second the took her first bite, however...

"Wow..."

"I know, right? Pancakes, I used to make them with Ratchet every Saturday morning, back when he was a kid."

"You raised Ratchet?!"

"Well, sort-of. I didn't meet him until he was, like, seven? Doesn't really matter, point is, yes, I raised him, until he was about sixteen, seventeen. Tachyon was alerted of his presence, and attempted to attack my home. I got Ratchet out of there safely, but it'd mean farewell for at least ten years. I turned into a Lombax and let Tachyon's forces 'kill' me so they'd think that I was the Lombax they had heard about."

"Why didn't you go back to Ratchet afterwards?" Alcyone asked before taking another bite.

"Because I kept my powers a secret from him at the time. Therefore I couldn't return. I kept watching over him though."

Alcyone nodded. "Well, why don't you try out what I made for you?"

Simon sat down and began to eat. "Well, what do you think?" Alcyone asked with genuine curiosity.

"It's nice! It's a bit bitter though."

Alcyone chuckled. "That's because it's special. This dish depends entirely on what you expect it to taste like."

Then she realized something. "So you expected me to make something bitter for you?" she asked, a bit offended

"No, no, that's not it at all. It's just that I've taught myself to always expect the worst, that way I'll always appreciate what I have. Back in high school, I always went for high test results, but whenever I submitted my answers, I expected the outcome to be a low score. Therefore no matter the score, I'd be happy with it because it'd be better than my expectations. And if I'd indeed get a low result, I was mentally prepared."

"So... you actually expected it to taste bitter so you'd like it, whatever I'd make for you?"

"Exactly. I never took something as... as amazing as this into account though. Not only is it delicious now that I've focused on a different taste, the scientist side of me can't wait to figure out how this works exactly. This is incredible!"

Alcyone smiled. "The pancakes you made are delicious too, you know?"

"Thanks! I'm glad you like it!"

After both had finished their meal, they placed the dishes in the dishwasher. "Alcyone?" Simon asked.

"Yes?"

"Try to get as much rest as possible. Tomorrow's a big day."

"Why is that?"

"That's because we're going to save your family tomorrow.

* * *

 **That's right, plot-important chapter coming up! It's gonna have to wait a while though, I still have beta-reading work to finish as well as a new True Heroes chapter and a Zoniborn chapter in the makings, and I need to start wondering if I want to make another Winter Special-like story series.**

 **On a separate note, I'll be making a 3D render of Vehena which will be uploaded to my DeviantArt profile, I'll let you all know when it's finished. And another thing I'd like to point out: Airbax over at DeviantArt has made some stunning artwork of Simon, Hypernova and Alcyone! Check out my favorites over at DeviantArt to find them more easily. ArtistTiger over at DeviantArt has made a few drawings of Simon as well, and various drawings of Photon.**


	6. Time and Time Again

**Alright, here we go again. Haven't had much time or energy to write the past few days, but I managed to push out a chapter with 4.8K on the word counter nevertheless.**

 **So here we go again! Let's reply to the reviews first, shall we?**

* * *

 **Destiny W: "** ** _This was a great chapter, can't wait for more. : )_ "  
Thanks! And there will be more, you can count on that! For now though, enjoy chapter 6!**

 **Jadzia Ezri Dax: "** ** _Falcy, who are you a mind reader?... I was thinking the same thing! Maybe Simon is in love with Alcyone, although I think Alcyone is falling in love with him faster than Simon is falling in love with her... but that's just me. If anyone else is "cutthroat" enough to guess, tell the White Guardian! (Sorry, couldn't help but add a pun. Lol.) Enough romance talk. So again, awesome chapter! And Simon constantly expecting the worst? I never thought of trying that. So if I expect to get an F on my math lesson and get a B minus or a C minus instead, I won't be so grumpy about it? Huh. I'm going to try it.  
P. S. Man, you are just getting me excited about Skyrim to the point where my sister has to duct tape me to a chair..._**

 ** _..._**  
 ** _... hahaha, kidding. But it's true that I am really, REALLY excited. (I think my sister keeps stealing money from my piggy bank, which I made specifically to look like those pigs on Angry Birds... Lol, again._**  
 ** _P. S. S. Thanks, I appreciate it!_ "  
Hmm, there seem to be a lot of people guessing that there's something going on between the two. Me? I will neither confirm nor deny those claims. Has to do with spoilers. That's all I'm going to say about it... And that isn't Simon's trick per se, it's actually something I came up with a few years ago and decided to add it to Simon's character as well.  
P.S. I'm not sure if I'm going to get the Special Edition, after some thinking about it: one, my PC won't be able to handle it, I am saving money for a stronger PC but spending $45 on DLC is going to push that back a fair amount, plus, there's more than enough to do in the game already. And two, there are already plenty of mods that add a lot of eye candy. The next-gen graphics sure are something though... so shiny... and I'm glad my piggy bank doesn't look like an Angry Birds pig, those annoying little buggers. The way they just laugh in your face whenever you fail always annoys me. Anyhow, enjoy!  
**

 **Max Chronicle: "** ** _Well, at least you have more restraint then I do. When I'm mad, I go straight for the RYNOs, the Spiral Of Carnage or the Shredder Claws... you know, incendiary weapon of choice._**

 ** _And about breaking time, tell Clank that... I. AM SORRY!_**

 ** _And seeing as how both Falcy and Jadzia are on the same page with a possible romance... I'm going to admit that I have thought there actually IS something going on between the two. Sure, saving an entire race is something I expect Simon to do with enough reason. And given what the Hypernova suit and Final Eclipse can do together, rebuilding a planet is not, by any stretch of the imagination, hard for Simon to accomplish. (and again, something I expect Simon to do with enough reason) But, as far as we're aware, Alcyone and her family were the only people to live on Vehena soooooo... Simon is either being a really nice guy (Can't fault him there) or he has some inkling feelings for our new resident lombax. Simon, don't be mad at me. I just wish you the best in life._**

 ** _In any case, The White Guardian, good job thus far and gotta say that I can't wait for the future. Stay spiz, and I'll keep an eye out for the rendering._**  
 ** _Max out._**  
 ** _P.S. Black Hole's backstory... NO FLIPPING WAY (Insert fifteen exclamation points)_ "  
Clank isn't mad at you, he's dealt with worse, and so has the universe (cough cough stupid bloody Fongoids cough cough). And a possible motive for Simon would be that he cares deeply about his friends, thus seeing one of them in that much pain would really hit a nerve. But love is a possible explanation, I will give you all that, but I will not confirm or deny if it is correct, you will all have to wait and see, I'm afraid... Anyhow, enjoy!**

 **Falcy: "** ** _Looks like Simon and Alcyone are off to save her family! Yipee! (Meanwhile I wonder what Ratchet and Angela are doing...)_**

 _ **P.S. I wonder what would happen if you gave Photon Lombax nip...disguised as cookies. Because, you know, he's part Lombax.**_

 _ **P.S.S. YOU have A4O TOO? Sweet. After I beat the game for the first time, I decided to play it again and encountered with a sentry minion. I had the sudden idea of using the plasmabomb launcher's range to kill to minion without getting spotted. And guess what? It worked! So, whenever I encounter a sentry minion, I'll simply just plasmabomb them in the face.**_

 _ **P.S.S.S. Random question for Simon: Do you think mantises are cute? Cuz I do! (Btw, I'm still on his "romantic" relationship with Alcyone)**_

 _ **P.S.S.S.S. Even if I read that Black hole has been defeated for good, I 100% HIGHLY doubt it...(And I believe Max Apogee will appear in any of the other Epiloge fics you plan to write)**_ **"  
Yeah, we'll catch up with the other two Lombaxes soon enough... And giving Photon Lombax nip? Uuh... well... run. Or rather, pray for a miracle, not even Hypernova will be able to stop him at that point. That is, if it does have an effect on him. Seeing as Photon is genetically engineered, it is by far not outside the realm of possibilities for Simon to add some genes to the mix that add resistance to most drugs. For everyone's sake, let's hope he did so. And the sentry minions, I actually figured out that exact same trick during my first playthrough. Mostly because I remembered the words of Cronk, or Zephyr, or whoever narrated that part: it's very effective verus enemies that are in hiding. Thus, I wondered, what would happen if I'd give those sentries a nasty surprise. I was happy to find out that it worked exceptionally well, a godsend versus instant-killing enemies. But have you tried out using the... what was the morph-o-ray named in that game again? Doesn't matter, try using that gun on some mini bosses such as Mr. Perkins, in Mr. Perkins' case it even unlocks a trophy. If you're having trouble with that, give me a shout, I'd be happy to help you out! And mantises? I'm guessing you are referring to the praying mantis? He finds them a rather fascinating sight, but he would rather not keep them as pets. Arachnophobia, you see. He dislikes insects if they get too close, he's much more comfortable viewing them from a distance, or through glass for example. However, don't expect him to start screaming over a spider or silverfish, he'd rather remove the intruder by moving them outside rather than injuring the creatures, but that doesn't mean he likes it though. As for Black Hole, you'll just have to wait and see I'm afraid.  
**

* * *

Angela woke up with a yawn. She saw that Ratchet was still asleep. Smiling, she snuggled up to him and wrapped her arms around him. A few minutes later Ratchet's ears twitched and he began to wake up. "Good morning." Angela whispered.

"Good morning." he replied with a yawn. "So, what are we gonna do today?"

"Perhaps we should leave the planet, and go visit Clank or something."

"That's not a bad idea. We could go do something fun together. Like, a movie, or an amusement park."

"I thought Clank was more of the science type?"

"That doesn't mean that he can't have fun. He can appreciate a movie with a good plot. In fact, he even starred in some movies."

"Really?"

"Secret Agent Clank, didn't you know?"

"No."

Ratchet frowned. "Strange, I would've sworn I saw you at the theater, at the premiere of another Secret Agent Clank movie, a few years ago. You were wearing your thief outfit."

"Huh? When was that?"

"About a year after the Protopet ordeal."

"Impossible, I wasn't even in Solana at the time. And why would I be wearing that thief outfit? I wanted to put that part behind me, I destroyed the outfit after the Protopets had been fixed."

"Hmm. Perhaps we should talk to Simon or Clank about this, seeing as they know about time."

"Good point." Angela said, letting out a yawn as she stretched her arms. "Well? Shall we make breakfast?"

"Well... just stay here for a moment." Ratchet said as he got out of bed. He walked to the kitchen, where he found Simon drinking a glass of fruit juice. He was still wearing his nightwear, a white shirt and white pants, his hair was a mess and he seemed to be lost in thought. He turned around when he heard Ratchet come in. "Morning."

"Good morning to you too." Ratchet said as he grabbed two plates and began to make a few sandwiches. "What are you up to?" Simon asked.

"I'm gonna make breakfast for me and Angela."

Simon smiled. "That's a wonderful idea. Let me help you out."

A few minutes later Ratchet was walking back to his room, holding a tray with six sandwiches on it, a bottle of water and a glass for both himself and Angela. When he opened the door, Angela saw what he had been planning, and she smiled. "You really didn't have to do that, you know."

"I know. I wanted to."

* * *

"Okay, ready?" Simon asked.

Alcyone took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go."

Simon transformed into Hypernova, and off they went, various years into the past, until they found themselves on Vehena, years before the attack. "Okay. Let me show you how it's done." Hypernova said, before they both turned invisible. Then, Alcyone could feel gravity's grip vanish. "What's happening?"

"I'm preventing us from being detected by the noise of our footsteps. It must be as if we were never here."

Turning around, Hypernova spotted a house. It was rather large and was made of wood. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Where I used to live, indeed."

Flying in, they immediately saw who they came for. Lying on a bed surrounded by six children and one man, holding a baby, was Alcyone's mother. She didn't look good, a look of pain was present on her face, and her ears were lowered. A quick scan revealed her condition.

Simon flinched, this wasn't good. Pleione's organs were heavily damaged by some sort of bacterial infection. He knew this disease, it was infamous for a very good reason. An infected lifeform won't even notice the disease until it's too late. Many of her vitals were already shutting down, he guessed that she'd have mere seconds left to live.

He closely analyzed her vitals until her heart stopped beating. "Now." he thought as he raised his hand. Time froze instantly.

The sound of crying didn't stop though, and you didn't have to be a genius to figure out why.

Hypernova transformed back into Simon, and he hugged Alcyone. "Come on, stay strong! She's not dying, remember?"

"Yeah... yeah..."

Simon turned around and pointed Final Eclipse at Pleione. He lowered the sword a second later. "Done."

"Done what?"

"What you're seeing there isn't your mother anymore. It's a hyper-realistic dummy. Your mother is now in a secure location. Since time is relative, we can later travel to the exact moment she arrived there and heal her."

"How?"

Simon frowned. "Leave that to me. It's gonna take some effort, but there must be a way."

They began to travel through time again, this time to the day of the attack. "Okay, we'll have to split up now. Considering Maia's an infant, that leaves six people to save, your five sisters and your father. It's best if we split up, the more time we spend here the less stable the universe becomes."

"Wait, what?"

"We can't keep messing with time. If we do, it'll result in complete destruction. The universe needs time to heal time. Use your staff and wait until the very last moment."

"Got it." Alcyone said before sprinting off. She soon found her past self and some of her sisters searching for berries. She counted down the seconds until her father would come running at them.

"Now." she whispered, and indeed, there he was. Using her staff, she slowed down time until the fatal bullet came flying into view. Stopping time, she pushed her father out of the way before using her staff to create a near-perfect clone of him. "As long as it looks real enough for me, my sisters and the Drophyds to believe it, it should work." she mumbled. Since time was frozen, her father had no weight, and thus Alcyone could easily pull him after her. "Simon?"

"Yeah?" Simon's voice came from within the forest.

"I've saved my father, where do I send him?"

"Let me, I know the coordinates." Simon said as he came running out of the forest. After Atlas had been sent to safety, they continued to work. Alcyone saved Celaeno, but when she found Asterope and Merope, things went downhill.

She found Asterope and Merope with their backs pressed against a tree in fear, and a Drophyd was standing in front of her, towering over them. "Please!" Asterope yelled. The Drophyd grinned evilly and raised a claw. Asterope turned around to protect Merope. She screamed as the claw dug into her skin. Alcyone clenched her fists, desperately trying to stay calm.

But then her staff allowed her to read the Drophyd's mind. " _Their fur will look nicely on my wall._ " the Drophyd thought.

Alcyone snapped, and made herself visible, right in front of her two sisters. "You!" she screamed at the Drophyd, who was staring at her in confusion. Had a Lombax just appeared in front of him?

Asterope was just as surprised. Merope had fainted. "W-w-who are you?!" Asterope stammered.

Alcyone didn't respond, instead she raised her staff, and the Hypernova suit came falling through a portal. And without thinking twice, she forced the power of both the suit and the staff into herself.

Alcyone's staff and the suit disappeared, and Alcyone's eyes started to glow. "I'm a walking _nightmare_." she roared as she emitted a blast of light.

When the light faded, the Drophyd nearly had a heart attack.

Standing in front of him was a huge version of Alcyone. She was wearing a long, white-golden dress, and she suddenly spread a pair of angelic wings.

Simon could feel the whole planet shake as Alcyone unleashed her wrath on the Drophyd. She fired a huge beam of light out of her hands, completely vaporizing both the Drophyd and it's mech.

Immediately the entire Drophyd fleet hovering over Vehena was alerted, and a whole army of Drophyds was sent down, along with a whole army of robots, jetfighters, and the warships themselves.

"You've stolen my race's technology!" Alcyone roared as she made the ground below the Drophyds' feet erupt.

"You've even brought then to near-extinction!" she yelled as a massive warhammer formed in her hands, before destroying the rest of the ground-based army with one swing of the massive weapon.

"But I won't ever show mercy to those who harm my family!" she cried out as she fired a beam of energy the size of a small asteroid, bringing down the entire fleet.

"Alcyone!"

Alcyone turned around with a loud roar, and brought down her massive fist on whoever had called her name.

She was able to stop her arm just in time before she'd punch Simon right through the planet. Simon didn't even flinch, he knew that she couldn't harm him. Light can't hurt light.

Simon jumped into her hand and ran up to her neck, before somersaulting onto her nose. He stared into her eyes. "Calm. Down. Take a deep breath, and relax, okay?"

Alcyone did as she was told, and soon she was her usual size again. The wings were gone, and Hypernova and Dawnbringer were lying on the ground, battered and broken.

Alcyone sighed, then smiled at Simon, though her smile faded away when she saw the look he was giving her. "You _idiot!_ You promised that you wouldn't lose your temper! Do you have any idea what you've just _done_?!"

Meanwhile Asterope was staring at them, eyes as wide as possible. "S-s-s-s-sis?"

Simon ran up to her and pressed his hand against Asterope's forehead, and a second later she was out cold as well.

"What did you do?!" Alcyone yelled.

"Final Eclipse's energy forced her to fall asleep. Ergo, nothing compared to what you've just done!"

"I-"

"Do you have _any_ idea of what you've just _done_?!"

"I... no."

"You have just destabilized time itself. The present we came from is beginning to fade from existence, and soon we will be torn off the fabric of this universe as well. The only thing capable of surviving that is the Hypernova-suit, and look at what you've done to it!" Simon said, pointing at the broken suit.

* * *

"Wohoo! Now I finally have a dragon!" Ratchet said as he deployed said beast.

"Nice!" Angela said, who was mining some resources. "Could you watch my back then?"

"You don't even have to ask." Ratchet said with a chuckle as he moved his character. They had been playing an online game for a few hours now, and so far both were enjoying it.

"You know, it doesn't even surprise me anymore that he had a bunch of strong computers ready." Angela said with a laugh.

Ratchet frowned. "Who?"

"Simon of course, dummy!"

"Who's Simon?" Ratchet asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ratchet, stop, this isn't funny."

"I'm serious, who's Simon?"

"Ratchet, I don't believe that you'd be able to forget someone who has played such an important role in your life."

"Angela, who. Is. Simon?"

"Ratchet, stop, you're scaring me."

"But I'm dead serious!" Ratchet said. "I don't remember any 'Simon'!"

Ratchet was serious, Angela could see it in his eyes. "Then something is very, very wrong." she mumbled, thinking.

* * *

Alcyone's ears lowered. "I'm sorry." she said.

"Sorry isn't enough. You have to do something, and you have to do it now."

"What can I do? Bring back those Drophyds?"

"No, it's too late for that. There's only one thing you can do. You. You have to destroy this planet."

"What?!"

"The Drophyds can't do it anymore, if you destroy the planet now, I can disguise as a Drophyd and, well, lie about what happened here, I mean, there's nobody that can say otherwise."

Alcyone looked around. In order to save the universe... she'd have to destroy her home?

"I... I don't know if I can do this."

"Alcyone, everything you know and love is depending on you right now."

Alcyone bit her lip, then made a decision. "Okay."

Her staff formed in her hands. Summoning all of her energy, she slammed the staff into the ground. Final Eclipse formed in Simon's hands, and he began to help her.

Cracks started to form in the surface of the planet, and Simon began to fly using Final Eclipse's power. He managed to pull Alcyone and Hypernova away from the planet in the nick of time as it exploded violently.

Without a word, Alcyone and Simon both raised a defensive wall, shielding themselves from the blow.

"Now, to fix the trajectories..." Simon mumbled as he flew around and pushed some rocks. "And done. Now let's get out of here."

They jumped through time again, only to reappear in a room covered in white tiles. Alcyone's family members were lying on tables, each of them unconscious. "Alcyone, you need to get out. You shouldn't see this."

"What are you going to do?"

"Heal them, but if necessary, I might have to perform surgery to remove stuff like bullets, and you definitely don't want to see that."

"True." Alcyone said as she got out of there.

Simon ran to a corner of the room and grabbed a white coat from the wall. He then grabbed a surgeon's mask and a pair of sterile, rubber gloves.

Walking to the table that had Pleione on it, Simon grabbed a scanner and scanned the female Lombax's body for whatever disease she was suffering from. Finding what he had been looking for, he grabbed surgeon's tools and carefully began surgery. Removing the biggest bacterial infections, Simon then grabbed a vial of nanotech and poured the fluid over the Lombax's head. Because time was still frozen, it just stayed there, hovering in mid-air.

Next up was Atlas. Simon carefully removed some bullets out of the Lombax's back before giving him some nanotech as well.

By grabbing a set of new tools and placing the used ones in the sink, as well as grabbing a new pair of gloves every time, Simon reduced the risk of infection to a minimum. Next, he checked the claw mark on Asterope's back for infections or metal that got stuck in the wound. After removing some tiny shards and disinfecting the wound, she was good to go.

Then Merope. Thankfully, thanks to Asterope, Merope had only sustained no critical injuries. Merope had a broken wrist and scratch marks covering her arms, likely they ran straight through the forest and the branches of the bushes hadn't been very kind.

Celaeno had tried to hide in the lake, only to be seen by a Drophyd, who had then held her underwater. After removing the water, Simon scanned her brains for damage, and found none. "Thank god." he whispered. After restoring some energy to her body with Final Eclipse, Simon poured some nanotech over the Lombax just to be sure.

Lastly there was Taygeta, who would've been on the receiving end of a flamethrower if Simon hadn't interfered. Because Simon had interfered, Taygeta was relatively unharmed, save for the fact that the Drophyd pursuing her had broken her legs to prevent her from getting away. The mere thought made Simon's blood boil, but he stayed calm for Taygeta's sake, he had to stay focused.

One of her legs had been twisted, the sight of it made Simon nauseous. Turning it back the way it should be facing, he applied some nanotech. Placing all of them in a special vault, Simon closed the door and jumped through time.

He met up with Alcyone in the present, in front of the same vault. "Ready?" he asked as he grabbed the handle.

Alcyone nodded, and Simon opened the door.

Her mouth dropped instantly. Inside was a replica of what had been her house. A field of grass surrounded the house, and she could see her sisters playing among the flowers. They were playing tag with her father, and by the looks of things, they were winning. " _Probably because we always loved to team up._ " Alcyone thought.

She could see her mother inside the house, watching them play with a smile.

Alcyone walked on, and Simon stayed behind. This was something she had to do on her own.

Staring at Alcyone's sisters, Simon couldn't help but notice how much they had grown since the last time he'd seen them. For him, it had been mere seconds, while for them, it had been years. But in here, there was a special gas in the air that made everyone inside lose concept of time, and provided enough energy to everyone to keep them alive, even if they'd never eat. Anything they'd think of would appear in the fridge and wouldn't spoil (teleportation and no bacteria), making it appear as if they were in some kind of heaven.

Simon sighed. It was sad, but necessary to lock them up in here for years, otherwise they'd disturb the flow of time. But, spending a few years in isolation was better than not living anymore at all.

Especially Maia caught his attention, she had grown from a baby to a teenager.

Meanwhile, the six sisters and their father had noticed the Lombax approaching them. They gasped.

Alcyone said nothing, there was no need for words. "W-who are you?" Asterope finally spoke up.

"Don't you remember me, sis?" Alcyone replied with a weak smile. Meanwhile Pleione had seen what was going on as well. She came running out of the house. The second she locked eyes with Alcyone, she knew that it was her daughter. She recognized those eyes.

Pleione said something in ancient Lombax as she embraced her daughter. Final Eclipse provided a translation for Simon so he could follow too. "Oh, gods." Pleione whispered.

"Mother, do you know where you are?" Alcyone said in the same language.

"The afterlife?"

"No. That answer only shows that this room did it's job very well."

"What?"

Simon came walking forward. "I, uh, don't speak that language, so..."

"I'll translate for you." Alcyone said to him.

"Well, alright then. Anyhow, uh... how do I even _begin_ to explain this? Uh..."

Meanwhile Alcyone's sisters and father had walked closer too so they could hear what Alcyone would say.

Simon took a deep breath, and began to speak. Alcyone translated for him. "What you are seeing here, around you, is a lie." Simon began. "This room is specifically designed to make anyone living in it feel as if they are in some sort of afterlife. That is because you would lose the concept of time. We're here because it's time to get back out. You all had to stay in here or else the universe would collapse, and I'll explain why.

Pleione, you would've passed away if your daughter and I hadn't interfered, freezing time at the very last moment, getting you out of there and leaving a dummy behind. You see, you actually died the first time, which lead to the event of your daughter and I coming to save you, but in order to prevent time from changing, we had to make the past self of your daughter _believe_ that you had died, while you, in fact, had not. The same goes for your husband and your other children, they didn't die, but everyone would've believed so, therefore the timeline was not altered. You all had to stay in here until you'd catch up to 'our present' so that time wouldn't be altered. I know, it's confusing, but please, bear with me."

"...allis pleta, mirra ti do." Alcyone finished.

Atlas frowned and said something. Alcyone translated.

"My father asked why exactly they would have to stay in here."

"That's because, a long time ago, overuse of time travel damaged the time-space continuum. Due to the combined efforts of some brilliant minds the universe is stable again, but fragile, even the slightest misuse of time travel is capable of destroying existence. It's sad but true, for the universe to stay intact, I'd have to imprison you all for years. To make it easier I added a gas to the air that'd make you lose the concept of time. I hope you can all forgive me for this, but it's the only way."

Pleione said something. "My mother says that she thinks that she understands, though she still finds it hard to believe."

"Perhaps I should show them something then." Simon said as he grabbed Final Eclipse. Immediately everyone's eyes widened. Noticing this, Alcyone stepped in front of him and explained that he was not going to hurt them. She asked them to have faith in her friend.

Simon slowly pointed the sword at them, and a blue mist came swirling out of the tip. "Calm." Alcyone said in ancient Lombax. "Trust me."

Slowly Simon began to share his memories. Alcyone telling him about the attack, rebuilding Vehena, the fight at Cerinia, he even shared his knowledge of Galactic Standard. He shared his knowledge of everything that had happened to the Lombax race and to the galaxy since the attack on Vehena. At first, Alcyone's family was frightened, he could feel it, but slowly they began to understand.

The mist faded, and so did Final Eclipse. Atlas stepped forward. "T... thank... you." he said, having a little trouble with linking the words. It was a lot to take in, after all. "Thank you for everything. But... why? Why risk the universe for six people?"

"Because... seeing how much losing her family was hurting your daughter, it reminded me of how I felt right after the people I consider my family were wiped away. Except this time, I could do something about it. I would not let this happen ever again, let alone to a friend of mine."

Slowly, the bright light in the room faded, and a portal opened behind Simon. "Follow me, please. I have something to show you."

Simon walked through the portal. Alcyone's family, however, wasn't very keen on walking through something as strange as a portal. "It's okay." Alcyone assured. "Trust me."

They reluctantly walked through the portal, only to gasp. They were on Vehena again, on top of a mountain, and they could stare down at the forests below. A slight mist was hanging over the clouds, and they could see a waterfall in the distance. "Where's our home?" Merope asked.

"I thought this could be an opportunity to start anew." Alcyone said. "You know, letting go of the past and building a better future."

"You have matured a lot." Pleione said. "In fact, your appearance surprises me."

"But, there is one problem." Atlas, rubbing his chin in thought. "Building a house is going to take time."

"Leave that to me." Simon said. "You can stay at my house in the meantime, catch up with your daughter. Leave the building to me."

"You're going to build an entire house on your own?" Atlas asked.

Simon laughed. "I have some help." he said as Final Eclipse formed in his hands. He pointed the sword at a lake far below, and the water began to ripple. Suddenly blasts of water shot up into the sky. Simon turned it into a whole show that lasted for several minutes, until he got tired.

"Come. Let's go home." Alcyone said as she opened a portal.

"How did you do that, my child?" Pleione asked.

Alcyone chuckled. "My, I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?" she said as they all walked through a portal that lead to planet Custos.

* * *

"Oh, _that_ Simon!" Ratchet suddenly said. "Don't ask me why, but I couldn't remember him for a moment.

"I don't buy it." Angela replied.

"It's true! It surprises me too!" Ratchet said.

Angela shrugged. "Welp." she said. "You're screwed."

"I-what?" Ratchet asked, but before he could react Angela's character slammed Ratchet's character off-screen.

"That's cheating!" Ratchet said.

"Is that so?" Angela replied with a smile. "Or do you just can't handle that I'm way better at this game than you are?"

"Rematch." Ratchet said. "Let's see who wins."

They both chose the same character, and the fighting game restarted. Ratchet's character jumped over Angela's and before Angela could react, Ratchet pulled off an aerial combo.

She saw an opening though when Ratchet tried to knock her character off the stage. She jumped at exactly the right time and kicked Ratchet down, off-screen, resulting in a K.O.

"Oh, _come on_!" Ratchet said as Angela's character taunted. "You have only one life left." Angela said. "Last chance to turn the tides."

Oh, and the tides did turn, before she knew it Angela had been defeated. "Wow, looks like you could indeed do better!"

Ratchet playfully poked her arm. "Not funny." Then he frowned. "Why doesn't the game end?"

Suddenly, a third character entered the game. "What?! You can't join mid-fight! Besides, we were playing offline! Who is this?!" Ratchet said as he tried to beat the character, but whoever was in control of this newcomer was able to predict Ratchet's movements with incredible accuracy, dodging every attack in the nick of time and countering Ratchet's stronger attacks, and soon enough the Lombax saw his character fly off-screen. "Game!" the TV blared.

"What just happened?" Ratchet asked Angela, who shrugged with an innocent smile. Meanwhile, at the exact center of the universe (give or take a few feet), a little robot was sitting on a couch. His eyes were blue rather than the usual green, though they became green again a second later. Clank giggled. "Online games are fun."

Angela sent Clank a message through her mobile phone, she had hidden it behind a pillow. "When do you think he'll find out?" she asked.

"Soon enough." Clank sent back with his antenna. "Something tells me he already knows."

A few minutes later, Angela replied. "Yep, he caught me texting."

"Did he like the surprise?" Clank asked.

"Tell him I did." Ratchet said with a smile as he wrapped an arm around Angela's shoulders. "Sneakily setting the game to online mode so Clank could play with me, that's incredible."

"I knew you'd like it." Angela replied with a laugh as she got up. "I'll leave you two alone. Something tells me you're gonna ask him for a rematch, and something else tells me that it's going to take you several hours before you can even land a hit on him."

And it did take several hours. "How do you do it, Clank?" Ratchet sent in a text message. "How do you keep dodging me?"

"That is easy. I know you, Ratchet, and I know what you would do. You cannot hit me because I have often seen you in combat, but you have not often seen me fighting." Was Clank's reply.

"Still no luck beating him?" Angela asked with a smile as she walked past.

"Nope." Ratchet said. "Wanna help?"

"Well, sure, if Clank's okay with it."

"I'll text him." Ratchet said as he grabbed Angela's phone. A few seconds later, Clank replied that he did not mind at all.

Fighting together as a team, the two Lombaxes did quite well at trying to trap Clank, but in the end, Clank managed to outsmart them both by committing suicide and taking both of them with him.

Ratchet burst out laughing. "That was ridiculous!"

"Tell me about it." Angela replied. "Hey, there's something I'd like to ask you. Do you mind if I go out for the day, tomorrow?"

"Huh? No, of course not! As long as you stay safe, that is."

"Of course! I'm just going to visit my mother. I haven't really had the chance to talk to her yet, and I wanted to stay with you, but... after all this time..."

"It's okay." Ratchet said with a smile. "I understand. You go have fun with your family tomorrow."

Angela kissed him. "Thank you for understanding, Ratchet."

Ratchet laughed. "Hey, I should spend some time with my parents, too. I'll give them a call right away."

Meanwhile Orvus entered Clank's room. He knew what was going on, and watched his son with a smile. When Clank's eyes turned green again, he spoke up. "You know, seeing all the great friends you've made, it makes me so proud."

Clank smiled.

Orvus' face became a bit more serious. "My son, don't you ever think that you cannot ever leave the Clock to spend time with your friends. Now that I have returned, and with your mother here, the Clock is in good hands."

Clank nodded. "I understand, father, but... right now, Ratchet does not need my presence. The universe needs me more right now."

Orvus shook his head. "Just because he has others to talk to doesn't mean that he needs you less, XJ0461. Why don't you pay him a visit?"

Clank thought for a moment, then nodded. Orvus had already instructed the Clock to build a portal to Ratchet's location. Clank got off his bed and stepped through the portal.


	7. Family

**Alright, chapter seven!**

 **I really have a lack of time right now, I'm heading to Berlin for school tomorrow first thing in the morning and I'm staying there for a week, I just wanted to leave all of you with _this_ , another chapter!**

 **Max Chronicle: "** ** _Let me guess, they were playing SUUUPERRRRR SMAAASHHHHH BROTHERSSSSSSS!  
Love that game. Only ever played the classic N64 one though... meh, still fun.  
And Simon gets mad at a non-bad guy. In this reviewer's opinion... "whoa". That and when Angela and Ratchet started forgetting; in my head, I was going, "OH FRIDGE!"  
Now we finally get Alcyone's family back.  
Angela will go hang out with her parents.  
Ratchet and Clank will go be bros.  
Leaving Simon... to build a house.  
Glad to see another chapter up and readable. Take the time you need, TWG. By the way, saw the renderings. Top-notch, bro.  
Max out_"  
Nail on the head, pal! Ten out of ten, they were indeed playing Smash! I've actually come up with the following characters: Ratchet - Link. Angela: Zero Suit Samus. Simon: Ike, Captain Falcon, Shulk, Sheik, Bowser and Link (basically all of the characters I enjoy playing most, I actually main Ike), Clank: Mega Man or Marth. Alcyone: definitely Zelda. And for her family members: Atlas: Little Mac. Electra: Lucina. Merope: Rosalina & Luma. Celaeno: Yoshi. Taygeta: Palutena. Maia: Pit. And lastly, Asterope: Villager. I actually played a few eight-player smashes, me pretending to be Simon while I let the CPU play some other characters: me & Zelda in team blue, Link and Zero Suit Samus in team red, Mega Man in team green and Lucina and Rosalina in team yellow. I ended up winning every time, with Captain Falcon I just spammed the ALMIGTY FALCON... PUNCH! With six targets running around you're bound to hit someone. That. Was complete carnage. But then Link killed Zelda, and I reacted like Simon would do: you kill his teammate, he'll mess you up mate. So I went ahead and gave Link the heel of shame, then Zero Suit Samus the knee of justice. Oh, how I love playing Falcon! I actually have Smash for both the 3DS and Wii U, I've even uploaded some Smash vids to my youtube account, you should be able to find a link at my profile. My profile... I should update that again. And the renderings, I actually think of remaking the planets from Travel the Days using that engine. Ergo: 8K cloudmaps and surface textures, proper rings, the whole package! Anyhow, I've rambled on for long enough, I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter!**

 **Jadzia Ezri Dax: "** ** _This was so awesome! And what Clank said about online gaming just made that part all the better! And again, is anyone else "cutthroat" enough to guess what's going on in the background? Anyone? 25,000... uh... Scrunch (the monkey on Ratchet and Clank 3) nips for whoever gets it right! Haha, kidding.  
P. S. You made that method? Cool!  
P. S. S. Yeah, they can be annoying, those pigs. Enough to make one want to hurl their iPad against a closet. One of my friends actually convinced me to make the Angry Birds pig piggy bank (and it took a LOT of convincing). She's a huge Angry Birds fan. She even has her own Angry Birds SHIRT collection! I'm not kidding! She does.  
P. S. S. S. I have to get a new PC myself. I swear, some technology is getting crappy these days. I bought a new KitchenAid mixer for my mom about a year ago and it stopped working WAY TOO SOON. Not that KitchenAid has anything to do with PCs.  
P. S. S. S. S. My favorite Ratchet and Clank a Crack in Time weapon is the Spiral of Carnage. Don't ask me why, but I just love it. Not just because it destroys enemies, but because... well... I just love it, okay. Lots of P. S. S...'s, sorry._"  
Thanks! And how everything seems to think that Simon and Alcyone are gonna be a couple, let's ask the man himself. Simon, let's be very blunt, do you like Alcyone?  
Simon: "Uuh... _what_ _did you just ask me about Alcyone?_ "  
Alcyone: "What's wrong?"  
Simon: *Facepalms*  
P.S. Thanks!  
P.S.S. Wow. I actually ended up downloading Angry Birds Epic just so I could beat the sh*t out of them. I've become pretty good at it, too! It's been a while since I played it though.  
P.S.S.S. Well, technology is technology. I've put together a pretty tough system though. Sixth gen Intel i5 Skylake quad core processor, MSI specialized 4GB gaming graphics card, 8GB of RAM memory with a pretty decent motherboard. The thing I like most though? THE CASING ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE HYPERNOVA, AHAHAHA! Oh man, I like the casing I picked so much! In case you're wondering, it's the LC-Power 976W Snow Trooper. That thing, is absolutely gorgeous!  
P.S.S.S.S. Mine is the Sonic Eruptor. I love how I'm just gunning down dumbasses with _alien burps_!  
Anyhow, I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter!**

 **Destiny W: "** ** _This was a great chapter, I can't wait to read the next one. : )_ "  
Well, wait no longer, it's here! Enjoy!**

 **Falcy: "** ** _Alcyone gets her family back? Yaaay! Clank joins Ratchet, Angela, Simon, and Alcyone in their vacation? DOUBLE YAAAAAYYY! Wonder what the group's gonna do next, excluding Simon since he's fixing Alcyone's family's house. Anyhoo, keep it up!_**

 _ **P.S. I think you're talking about the Critter Striker. And yes, I did use the weapon to easily defeat the mini bosses. Also, I upgraded it to turn enemies into FIRE-BREATHING WAR HOGS! At times, it just feels so op when using it.**_

 _ **P.S.S. Have you watched/heard Steven Universe before, as well as Lab Rats? Because I watch them! I just LOVE how the SU characters are portrayed. Lab Rats has both the action and comedy that I really enjoy. If you haven't heard about them(mostly Lab Rats), you should go check them out!**_

 ** _P.S.S.S. Not even Hyernova can stop Photon at the point where he eats lombax nip? Boy do I hope Simon genetically engineered him to be immune to the effects! lol_ "  
Well, you'll see what they're gonna do soon enough! Enjoy!  
P.S. Fire-breathing war hogs? I challenge thee with the PS4's version's... FARTING GOATS OF DOOM! Seriously, how Insomniac manages to create an arsenal of such ridiculous weapons is truly beyond me, but I love it!  
P.S.S. I haven't heard of Lab Rats, but Steven Universe? Oh, I know about that one! It's a shame I don't watch it that often, probably because I don't watch TV that much...  
P.S.S.S. This IS Simon we're talking about, considering Photon used to be his only friend, he likely gave the cat an overpowered immune system, so you bet everything will be alright! Anyhow, enjoy!**

 **Chevalier Lecteur: "** ** _Yhat was ummm... hmmmm that was... oh yeah sooo awesome! plz hurry on the next 1;)_ "  
Thank you! And I'll make sure to push out the next chapter as fast as possible, too! Anyhow, for now, I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

The world was blurry around Clank, until he finally began to see more clearly. He saw that Ratchet was sitting on a couch a few feet in front of him, he could see Ratchet's large ears stick out.

He could also hear Ratchet speak, but he heard no reply, indicating that Ratchet was on the phone.

Clank walked around the couch, into Ratchet's vision. Ratchet's eyes widened, but kept talking on the phone as if nothing had happened.

"So, tomorrow morning, nine A.M.? Got it. See you then. Love you too, dad. Bye!"

Ratchet hung up and turned to Clank. "Hey, pal! How did you get here?"

Clank giggled. "Living on the Clock definitely has it's perks."

"Well, I'm glad you're here, pal." Ratchet said with a smile. "It's great to see you again."

Ratchet picked up his controller again. "Hey pal, wanna play a game?"

Clank smiled. "I would love to, Ratchet."

At that moment, Alcyone and her family came in, followed by Simon. "Whoa." Ratchet said. "Lots of new faces."

"Ratchet, meet my family." Alcyone said before she introduced him to her family members.

"So this must be your boyfriend." Atlas thought out loud.

Alcyone turned red. "Dad! I'm not in love with him! Would you quit this behavior? But a few moments ago you were saying the same thing about Simon to me!"

Simon coughed nervously. "Awkward." he mumbled to Ratchet. Ratchet couldn't agree more.

Then Simon noticed a blue-white ball of fur up ahead that couldn't stop laughing. "Oh, come here, you!" Simon yelled as he ran after Photon.

Atlas laughed. "Sorry, little one, it's something parents love to do. Perhaps one day you'll get to tease your own children." he said with a wink. Alcyone facepalmed.

Then Atlas noticed the holovision. "What magic is _this_?" he asked as he walked closer and pressed his face against the screen.

"That's a holovision." Ratchet explained. Let me explain. You see the glass at the front?"

"Yes?"

"There are thousands of tiny lamps behind that glass, each of them having a different color. The holovision is told what to project by other devices, and it'll show just that. It's a bit more complicated than that, but please bear with me."

"What's it showing?" Atlas asked.

"Clank and I are currently playing a game. You see those two people on-screen? Clank and I are both in control of one, and the goal is to, well, get the opponent off-screen by launching them."

"Ooh, I'll join the fight!" Atlas said with a laugh. He punched right through the HV. He turned to Ratchet. "Did I win?"

Ratchet burst out laughing. "That was the HV." Alcyone said as she shook her head. Meanwhile her mother and sisters had just watched it happen. Pleione walked over to her husband. "Perhaps you're diving into this a bit too fast, dear. Faster than they can explain."

"Oh." Atlas said as his ears lowered. "I'm sorry."

"Let me." Alcyone said as her staff formed in her hands. She raised the weapon, and the HV was good as new.

Meanwhile everyone was staring at Alcyone. "My daughter is a _witch_?!" Pleione cried out.

"Ma'am, you are incorrect." Clank tried to explain. Noticing the robot, Atlas cried out: "Aah! It talks!"

Alcyone had seen enough. Using her staff, she shared her memories. Her knowledge of technology and light weapons, for example.

"Do you all understand it now?" she asked when she was done.

"Yes." Pleione said. "It's all so clear now. Still, your powers fascinate me."

"I know." Alcyone said. "They fascinate me too."

Meanwhile Simon came in. Seeing what Ratchet and Clank were playing, he sat down on the couch. "Ooh, can I join?"

"Sure." Ratchet said as he handed Simon a controller.

Simon turned to Alcyone's family. "Please, have a seat!" he said.

A few minutes later, Atlas, Electra, Merope, Asterope and Maia had actually joined the fight as well, having received a controller from Alcyone.

Of course, Merope and Asterope teamed up, and a minute later Electra and Maia, and Ratchet and Clank had done the same thing.

"Shall we team up as well?" Atlas asked Simon.

Simon grinned. "If you want to make this truly unfair, okay."

"What do you mean, unfair?" Atlas asked.

Simon responded by commanding his character to grab Maia's. Throwing the character over his shoulder, Simon's character turned around and, when Maia attempted to jump back on the stage, the character slammed her down into the abyss with the heel of his foot.

Ratchet attempted to hit Simon's character from behind as Simon's character charged up a powerful punch. Suddenly, the character turned around though, and Ratchet was K.O.'d instantly.

Seeing what they were up against, Atlas teamed up with his daughters, forming a team of four.

Simon charged at them, and suddenly his character shot forward with a flaming kick, taking out Merope and Electra.

Asterope attempted to go on the offense. Simon blocked her attack, grabbed her, and threw her off-stage. Instead of waiting for her to recover though, he jumped after her and kicked her down into the abyss.

Meanwhile, Clank had analyzed Simon's fighting style, and had come up with a plan. After Simon had taken out Atlas, Clank charged at him, only to roll back all of a sudden while Simon's character grabbed thin air.

Clank reacted immediately, throwing his opponent off-stage. He jumped after Simon and kicked him down, but suddenly, Simon's character shot up, grabbed Clank, and jumped off him with a small explosion. Clank bounced against the side of the stage, then down and off-screen.

"Game!" the HV said.

Atlas laughed. "That was fun!"

"May I try?" Alcyone asked.

"Sure, go ahead." Atlas said as he handed her the controller.

Atlas moved over to his wife as the game restarted. "I still have to get used to all of this, you?"

Pleione nodded. "Even I am having trouble keeping up. It's a smack in the face, the amount of things that have changed in so little time."

"True." Atlas said. "But I could get used to it."

Pleione laughed. "Perhaps we should start living a bit more modern as well. We never had electricity, remember? I used to bake stuff with fire, and we used to grow our own crops. That always was a lot of work..."

"I already made a decision." Atlas said. "And I _totally_ agree with you. It's amazing, the things that are possible nowadays. And I thought that house we were in, in that... vault, was already advanced. Boy, was I wrong!"

Pleione chuckled. "It appears so."

After a few games, Simon got up and handed the controller to Atlas. He moved to Alcyone. "Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Uuh... okay." she said, handing the controller to Celaeno.

She followed Simon out of the room. "Alright, what's wrong?"

"Why did you lie to me?"

"What?"

"Back on Cerinia, you told me a different story, that you had been living on Zoness for example. I knew that that story wasn't true, I could feel it, but for your sake I didn't press the matter. However, I do wonder _why_ you lied to me, so if you're comfortable telling me... then please do."

Alcyone took a deep breath and nodded. "That's because... I didn't really know who to trust at that point. Despite what the fact that you wield a light weapon told me, I was still a bit distrustful. Thus, I decided to tell you what happened, but I decided to... 'twist' it a bit, for my own safety. I hope you can forgive me, or at least understand."

"I do understand." Simon replied. "And I do forgive you. I hope I've earned your trust though."

She smiled. "Yes, you did."

Simon nodded. "Alright, I'm glad to hear that. Anyhow, I'm going to my lab now, I've got to build some beds for your family members, I assume they will be staying here for the night."

Alcyone frowned. "Eight beds in a matter of hours?"

A ball light blue energy formed in Simon's hand. "But I have help." Simon said.

Alcyone chuckled. "True, but still, should I make dinner for everyone today? That way, you'll have more time."

"That'd be much appreciated, thank you! Perhaps you should talk to your family about this though, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them, if not all of them, would be more than happy to help you."

"Good idea!" she replied. "I'll talk to them about it right away."

* * *

Simon spent the rest of the day in his lab, listening to music as he built bed after bed. Thankfully Photon was more than happy to help him out, handing him any tool he needed and cheering Simon on in his own way.

Late in the afternoon, Alcyone walked into the lab. She chuckled when she saw two legs and a white-furred tail stick out from under a bed. "Hey, are you guys coming? Dinner's ready."

Photon immediately came sprinting out from under the bed, charging out of the room.

Alcyone watched him go. "He sure is a fast little one, huh?"

"Ooh, you bet! Especially when he's hungry." Simon said.

"I thought he didn't need to eat."

"Nope. When Photon's 'hungry', it means that he's hungry for the taste of food, not that he needs the nutrients. Hey, mind giving me a hand?" Simon replied as he crawled out from under the bed.

Alcyone offered him her hand and helped him get back up. "Thanks." Simon said.

"No problem. So, you coming?"

"Oh, you bet!"

* * *

After dinner, Atlas, Ratchet and Clank helped Simon move the beds, and a few hours later, everyone went to bed save for Simon, Atlas and Pleione, Simon needed the two Lombaxes to make a design for their house.

After about two hours the design was finished, including the decorations, and about half an hour after that, it was silent on Custos.

The next morning, at breakfast, Electra walked up to Simon. "Hey, uh... is there anything to do around here?"

"Uuh... well, there are the dreampods, in which you can basically make your dreams come to life, but I wouldn't use them in my absence. There's also a pool, games, and books to read of course."

"A pool? Awesome! But, eh... I don't have any swimwear."

Alcyone heard her sister say that. "You all have no other clothing than your dresses, don't you?"

"We used to, but I think you know. And I also think you know what happened to our other clothing."

Alcyone nodded. "Well, I was planning on doing some shopping today, why don't you all join me? It'll be fun!"

And indeed, an hour later Alcyone, her sisters and her mother left in Alcyone's ship. The ship was put on autopilot of course, Alcyone hadn't learned to fly yet, but luckily the A.I. was more than capable of flying everyone there in one piece.

Angela left in her ship as well, heading to planet Fastoon. Because Alcyone had chosen Fastoon as their destination as well, the two ships flew together, with Angela on the lookout for hostiles.

Meanwhile, Simon and Atlas had flown to Vehena, and were talking about the position of the house, Simon gave Atlas a pair of VR-goggles to project a wireframe of the house.

"Hmm... maybe a bit more to the left, a bit further from the edge." Atlas said. Simon typed something on a tablet, and the wireframe moved a bit. "Like that?"

"Yes, precisely. But, just to be on the safe side... could you add some sort of extra anchoring?"

Several steel cables appeared on the base of the house, attached to blocks drilled deep into the mountain.

"Yes, that's starting to look like it. And space travel... we need a landing pad around here somewhere. I'd say space for about ten ships, just to be on the safe side."

Simon frowned. "That's something I actually wondered about for quite a while now, how did you even end up on Vehena? I mean, the Lombax race is not from this planet."

"I... I don't know." Atlas said as he sat down. "It's the first thing I remember, waking up on this planet when I was a teen. I had no memories of my past. But, I decided to make the best of it."

"Then how did you meet your wife?"

Atlas laughed. "She came falling from the sky one day, now I know that it was a spacecraft she was in. I was walking through the forest, looking for resources one morning when I saw her floating in the water. She wasn't breathing, but she was still warm. Thankfully CPR managed to get her heart back up and running. It, it was a miracle. Mostly because I had no idea what to do, the knowledge just suddenly came to me."

Simon frowned. He knew that CPR wasn't enough to get a heart back up and running, the heart needed an electrical surge to restart. Something wasn't right.

That thought would have to wait for later though, there was a house to be built. "Anyhow, is the house okay this way? Remember that I can always add or remove stuff for you later."

"Perfect." Atlas said. "But how are you going to build it anyway, and are you sure you don't need help?"

"I'll be fine." Simon said. "Let's go back to my home, I can get to work there."

* * *

"Mother!" Angela said as Lorna opened the door. Angela stepped forward and embraced her mother. "It's so good to see you again!"

Lorna chuckled, returning the hug. "It's good to see you too, my daughter. Please, make yourself at home."

Walking into her mother's house on Fastoon, Angela saw that Alister wasn't around. "Where's father?"

"He isn't here, dear. He's at the headquarters of the Praetorian Guard, apologizing for his past mistakes. The chances of him being accepted in the Guard are slim, but I agree with him that it was worth the shot."

"True." Angela said as she sat down on the couch. Lorna sat down across from her daughter. "But what happened to you since the last time we saw each other, dear? On Grelbin I mean, those many years ago."

And Angela told her mother everything. From her childhood on Grelbin to her adventures with Ratchet, and how she and him were currently in a romantic relationship.

Lorna stared at her daughter in pride. "I couldn't be more proud of you." she said.

Angela smiled.

Lorna shook her head. "You know, there are many mother-daughter things that I missed. Things we should have done together but never got to do. There's not a day where I don't miss those moments that we should have had together. I never got to see my own daughter grow, and that hurts."

"Well," Angela said, "We can still do some of those mother-daughter things... if you'd like."

Lorna smiled. "I'd love to."

They ended up going to a shopping center, and go shopping together. They ended up running into Alcyone and her family, and they spent the rest of the day as a group.

They also ran into a... familiar face.

"What do you mean, 'we don't have those'?" Angela could hear a familiar voice yell. "No way." she said and followed the voice, the rest of the group following her, wondering what had caught Angela's interest all of a sudden.

Angela walked around a corner and indeed, it was him.

Bob was standing outside a shop, in an argument with the shopkeeper. Bob angrily pointed at a sign next to the shop. "Here, look at your own sign! 'We sell everything'. Well, apparently not!"

"Sir, you can't possibly expect us to sell what you are looking for!" the shopkeeper, an elderly Novalian, defended.

"I'm not asking for much!" Bob replied. "I just want a nuclear missile!"

"Sir, we don't have military-grade weaponry!"

"Argh, at least tell me you have dynamite?"

"Sorry, sir."

"Not even a tiny bit of gunpowder?"

"No."

Bob sighed. Then he noticed the candy sold at the store. Among them were 'exploding bubblegums'.

"This is mine now." Bob said as he grabbed hands full of the bubblegums.

"One hundred bubblegums, that'd be one hundred bolts, sir."

Bob somehow managed to pay for the bubblegums while having his hands full of them. "And these better say 'boom!'", he yelled over his shoulder as he left the store.

"Bob!" Angela said, walking up to him. "It's so good to see you!"

Bob turned around. "Oh! Hey... uh... who were you again?"

"Angela."

"Oh, yes, I remember! Sorry, my datadrive has been acting strange as of lately. It must be missing the explosions."

Angela frowned. "Maybe you should go see a doctor about that."

Bob burst out laughing. "A doctor? Trust me, my mind is already broken beyond repair. Maybe. Let's assume yes. Either way, how are you doing?"

"Pretty good!"

"Great to hear." Bob said. "Welp, got to go. I'm part of the Guard now, I'm supposed to be at training in a few minutes so I better hurry."

"You're with the Praetorian Guard?"

"Yeah, as a demolition expert at first, but because I love to make bombs blow up rather than defuse them, they decided to add me to the army instead. I'm not complaining, I've been promised a limitless supply of bombs! That is, as long as I don't blow up anything on my side of the battlefield."

* * *

"Alright, so this is where my parents used to live." Ratchet said as he knocked on the door of the house. He couldn't describe how he was feeling. This was the house he had lived in as an infant. Where he was supposed to have grown up.

"I know how you are feeling, Ratchet." Clank said to his friend. "I could not describe how I felt when I first woke up on the Clock, either. It is a most unusual feeling, even a slightly painful one, when you first visit a place where you should have been but, due to the circumstances, could not go to."

Ratchet chuckled. "Thanks, pal. I'm glad to have you here with me."

A few seconds later Kaden opened up. "Son!" he said as he hugged Ratchet. "It's so good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you again too, dad." Ratchet said.

"Please, come in." Kaden said, stepping aside.

Ratchet walked in, and immediately he felt weird, as if he had seen this all before. And he knew why.

Kaden chuckled. "It's strange, isn't it? The last time you were in this house was many years ago, when you were but an infant."

Kaden sighed. "Ah, I miss those days. And it saddens me that I couldn't get to see you grow up. It brings me peace that a good friend was watching over you, though. Still, that stupid Cragmite."

Ratchet chuckled. "Well, I heard you sure did a number on him."

"I did?"

"Yeah, you paralyzed the bastard. And you won't believe how that would help me later, when he tried to kill me."

"Tachyon came after you?" Kaden asked.

"Yeah." Ratchet said, sitting down on the couch. "That was probably one of the worst times of my life, having to watch every step because I had some maniac on my tail that wanted me dead at all costs, and because of what? All because I am a Lombax."

"Please tell me you gave him what he deserved."

Ratchet chuckled. "Well, if falling into an endless abyss in a different dimension is something..."

Kaden hugged his son. "At least you're still breathing, that's worth more to me than I can possibly describe."

"I've missed you, dad." Ratchet said.

"I've missed you too, son." Kaden replied.

On the other side of the room, Clank watched, smiling.

* * *

 **Alright, before I log off, I want everyone to know one more thing: my good friend Agent-Daniel_46 and I have managed to get a multiplayer mod for Skyrim to work, and that has given me more interest in playing Skyrim again. So, guess what story you'll see updated soon?  
**

 **I've also got something about True Heroes, I've bought the movie! Therefore I'm gonna rewrite the previous chapters first to add the movie's content, before moving on to the next chapters. Also, trust me when I say that you will all be seeing a lot of new locations in that story, I plan on adding a lot to the storyline!**


	8. Mind of a Hero

**Alright, the last chapter of Epilogue 2.5 before we'll move on to Epilogue 3. Let's say that this chapter will have an... _interesting_ ending.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Destiny W: "** ** _Another great chapter yet again, keep up the great work. : )_ "  
Thank you, and I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter just as much.**

 **Jadzia Ezri Dax: "** ** _Again, awesome chapter! I find it funny how Alcyone's parents aren't used to technology- especially when Atlas decided to punch the HV!  
P.S. Farting goats of doom? Hmm, lemme grab a fart gun *grabs fart gun and blasts goat with it*... Okay enough of that. That goat SMELLS... Um, heh, heh...  
P. S. S. I challenge thee White Guardian to an Angry Birdy duel! Draw thy sword!... Um, I do not know much old English...  
P. S. S. S. That is awesome! Just... way awesome. Now I'm a bit jealous that you got a Hypernova-like casing and I didn't. But I'm glad you built that and it works! :)  
P. S. S. S. S. I love the Sonic Erupter! It's so funny, seeing the bad guys getting blasted with burps! *Burps very loudly* Um, that wasn't me, that was... my Sonic Erupter blasting an enemy! (Yeah, I'm being particularly silly today. One of the few days where everything goes as planned.)  
P. S. S. S. S. S. What does Alcyone say on the romance matter? Lol! Yes, lots of P. S. S. S.'s. Sorry._"  
Yeah, I figured they wouldn't be used to technology, at least advanced tech like holovisions, that's why I added that response.  
P.S. Welp. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
P.S.S. Thy challenge me? Oh, woeful day, I fear I... erm... know no more old English words. I did read the original Romeo & Juliet for school a few years ago, but I don't remember the writing style that much anymore.  
P.S.S.S. I didn't build it yet, I have another PC here with the same setup that works amazingly well, but I haven't built my own PC yet. I am going to go ahead and buy the casing already though, since it's perfect!  
P.S.S.S.S. Hahaha! Well, I'm glad everything went as planned for you.  
P.S.S.S.S.S. Alcyone: "Romance matter? Me and Simon? Uuh... I... I..." *Runs away*  
Also, I couldn't find a good place for your OC to appear in this story. HOWEVER! Epilogue 3 is set in Bogon, thus expect an appearance!  
**

 **Max Chronicle: "** ** _RESPECT THE NIGH OMNIPOTENT FALCON PUNCH(Insert massive amount of exclamations)_**

 **But beside the spizness that is the aforementioned, things are moving quickly... and I am completely unsure of what is going down in the background. I mean seriously, WHAT IS IT MAN?!**  
 **Multiplayer mod... for SKYRIM!? Shiz, bro. But that connotes more Zoniborn, so... yeah. And I guess I'll take a look at the Smash vids.**

 **But redoing the planets of TTTD? I mean, I can't stop you if you wish to do it again, but I honestly love the work you've done already... almost makes me want to have a Deviantart just so that I could fav and leave a comment. At least it would be immortalized over there, but alas, I don't. Who knows?**

 **Max out."  
Do not forget Falcon's other powerful moves, the Knee of Justice, the Heel of Shame, but also... H'YES! And if you're unsure, look at Jadzia's comment, and my reply. And the multiplayer mod is fun indeed, but although I did promise more Zoniborn, I actually haven't written a single letter. I should definitely dedicate more time to it, huh? And I am indeed planning on remaking the TTTD planets, I'll let you know when they're done. For now, please enjoy this next chapter!**

 **Falcy: "** ** _Awww, looks like everyone's with their family! And now, I suddenly feel like hugging Ratchet, lol. Anyhoo, keep it up!_**

 **P.S. You haven't heard of Lab Rats? Well, I think you should try checking it out on Netflix, if you have it.**

 **P.S.S. Farting goats of doom? Bring it- *hogs and goats end up killing each other, ending the battle* Uhhh...I guess that's a draw? But as you said, it really is awesome just how creative Isomniac is.**

 **P.S.S.S. Did you watch the movie trailer? Well, when I watched it, I saw Nefarious holding the Sheepinator, which is pretty much the Critter Striker. To be honest, I think the name Critter Striker seems fitting."  
Ratchet: *gets hugged* "Uuh... what is going on? And where did the fourth wall go? What the heck, this isn't even the story yet, these are still author's no-" Have to interrupt you there before you deal any more damage to the poor fourth wall, Ratchet.  
P.S. I don't have Netflix I'm afraid, but I'll check it out!  
P.S.S. Really creative indeed, and that's one of the things I like most about the R&C games! In fact, I just voted on Ratchet & Clank for game of the year, along with Undertale!  
P.S.S.S. Yeah, looks like they salvaged the old model and improved it a little. It doesn't bother me that much though tbh, it's a really nice design! Critter striker does seem more fitting though, now that you mention it. Anyhow, enjoy!  
**

 **Saviour of worlds:**

 **Chapter 6: "** ** _Hey look at that! Alcyone got her family back too! She still has to learn a lot about time travel If she wants to go on adventures with simon though. She almost ripped apart the entire universe! I understand why she did that, But she has to learn to controll her anger. that aside, this chapter was amazing like always. I'm quickly moving on to the next one!_ "  
Yeah, that's for sure, not everything can be resolved by bluffing. Can't blame her for losing her temper though.  
**

 **Chapter 7: "** ** _BOB! he's back and full of tacos! Ready to blow up... something... I think he finds out what when he's done eating all these bubblegums. how does he eat you ask? Heck if I know... he has a way, otherwise he can't eat all of his tacos._**

 **I only have one question about the previous chapter. how did the drophyds blow up that planet? They didn't have a deplanetizer or something... So, how did they do it?**  
 **That aside, Great chapter, I'm looking forward to the next chapter!"  
I have no doubts that he'll find a way to eat stuff, even if his head is just a hologram. Bob will always find a way. And about the planet, well, just nuke it. We can already destroy the surface of the Earth, but with Lombax tech, the Drophyds can deal much more damage. The difference with the deplanetizer is though that Vehena didn't shatter into a trillion pieces. It did break apart though.  
**

* * *

"So, I think I'm going to stay here for a few more days." Angela told Ratchet through the phone. "There are still so many things my mother and I want to do together, it just doesn't fit in one day. Not even two."

"I understand." Ratchet said with a laugh. "I was about to tell you the same thing."

Angela chuckled. "Don't worry about telling Simon, I met Alcyone and her family at the mall, and I told her, she told me that she'll tell Simon that we'll be staying here for a few more days."

"Awesome." Ratchet replied. "Well, talk to you later. Love you!"

"Love you too, bye!"

Ratchet hung up.

"Son, are you coming? Dinner is almost ready." Ratchet's mother said, walking out of the kitchen.

"Sure." Ratchet said. "I just finished my phone call anyway."

Elisabeth knelt down, bringing herself to Clank's eye level. "I've also made some robotic food for you, Clank."

"Thank you ma'am. Your hospitality is much appreciated." Clank replied, making the female Lombax chuckle.

Meanwhile, Angela was helping her mother cook, she had taken a quick break to talk to Ratchet earlier. After a while, they could hear a noise in the hall. "Alister, dear, is that you?" Lorna yelled.

"Yes, I'm home." Alister replied. He came walking into the kitchen and kissed Lorna. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." Lorna replied, wrapping her arms around Alister. Knowing what was going on, Angela chuckled.

"Hey, father, can I speak with you for a moment?" she asked a few seconds later.

"Sure." Alister said, following her out of the kitchen. "What's up?"

"Have you ever considered proposing to mom again?" Angela whispered in his ear. "It's not too late to get married."

Alister smiled. "You have no idea what I've planned." he whispered back. "I'll take care of this marriage, why don't you worry about your own?"

"Dad!" Angela hissed, blushing.

Alister chuckled. "Relax, I'm just joking with you. Still, if Ratchet loves you as much as I think... I would give it two years at most."

Angela rolled her eyes, though the thought of her and Ratchet married... it made her feel weird. Happy, excited, and hopeful... but also a bit afraid. What if Ratchet never got to ask her something like that... simply because he wouldn't live to see the day?

" _That's a worry for later._ " she thought, pushing it to the back of her mind. " _Besides, with Simon, Alcyone and Photon watching his back, he'll be okay._ " she reassured herself.

"Hey, are you two coming? Dinner's ready." Lorna yelled from the kitchen.

"Well, we shouldn't keep her waiting." Alister said with a chuckle.

* * *

"Hey, you're back!" Simon said, glancing over his shoulder as Alcyone came in. "Yep. How was your day?"

"Your father and I have finished the design of the house. I've spent the rest of the day doing very little to save energy."

Alcyone raised a brow. "Save energy?"

Simon frowned, and paused his game. "You mean, you don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

Simon thought for a second. Then he turned to her. "Sit down for a moment, and I'll explain it to you."

Alcyone sat down next to him.

"Do you remember Cerinia?" he asked.

"Of course I do."

"Do you know why exactly I needed your help?"

"...Not exactly. I didn't question the matter at the time."

"Well... as powerful as light weapons are, their power isn't infinite. Nor is Hypernova's power. The Hypernova suit may have an internal nuclear reactor and the capability to draw power from the environment, but if I use too much energy it _will_ run out of power. The same goes for Final Eclipse."

The sword formed in Simon's hands. "Take a good look at it's design. Do you see that the blade extends from a core, what seems to be a minor star?"

"Yes, I see."

"That's the sword's power core. It will recharge on it's own, it can feed on any kind of light, including infrared. Final Eclipse is recharging because you're sitting next to me, it can feed on the infrared light you radiate, like any warm object in a colder environment. That's why I've been doing very little, so the sword can recharge. Be careful with the amount of energy you use, if your weapon runs out of power, it will drain energy from _you_ instead. This can kill you. That's why I needed your help on Cerinia, some of my friends were badly injured, and I didn't have enough energy to save them. You saved their lives."

Alcyone smiled. "Happy to have helped."

After that, Alcyone didn't see him for a while, when she came back into the living room a minute later, Simon was gone.

Alcyone and her sisters decided to make dinner, but when dinner was ready, Simon was still nowhere to be found.

Alcyone decided to go look for him. She searched the house, but no luck. He wasn't in his lab either.

But when she walked into the room with the dreampods, she realized that one of them was in use. Alcyone immediately climbed into one of the other pods and made it close.

Entering the world Simon was in, she looked for him. To her surprise, it was no beautifully created paradise, but an empty void instead. She eventually found Simon within the void, and she could see that he was holding something.

Upon closer inspection, she could see that he was holding a Lombax baby. Simon's eyes were closed, and so were the baby's eyes. Simon was just standing there, stroking the baby's right ear, seemingly lost in thought, while the baby slept. It was a rather adorable, yet somewhat odd sight.

Alcyone wanted to call his name, but ultimately decided against it. She turned around and prepared to leave, when she heard Simon speak up.

"I'm... I'm sorry."

She turned around. Simon still had his eyes closed. "I'm sorry for everything." he said to the baby.

Alcyone silently walked closer, wondering what was going on.

"I'm sorry for every bit of pain you've been through. From bruises to gunshot wounds, I'm sorry for everything you've been through. I'm so, so very sorry."

Tears were rolling down Simon's cheeks. "I'm sorry that you didn't get to meet your parents until you were already an adult. I'm sorry you rarely bumped into a member of your own species rather than seeing them occasionally, and I'm sorry for every time you wondered 'why was I left behind'. I'm sorry for every time you felt alone and hurt, and I'm sorry for every time you tried to reach the one thing you wanted, but could never get: a family. I'm sorry for every time the chance of joining your race was right in front of you, yet cruelly torn away the second you stepped forward. Ratchet... I'm so sorry for everything! All those times you were hurt, felt alone, felt left behind, felt... abandoned, it's all because of me! That you didn't get to grow up with your parents, among members of your own species, it's all because of me!"

Simon stayed quiet for a while, still crying. Then he spoke.

"It's all because I failed. I wasn't there in time. I couldn't save them. I couldn't see it coming. I... I couldn't protect them. Your family, the people I regard my own family as well, and everyone else, they died because I failed. But most of all... I'm sorry that I have to let all of you go."

Alcyone felt the urge to hug him, but something told her to wait.

"I'm not a hero." Simon whispered. "I regret every life I've taken, despite the many lives I've saved with it. Some think it's a good life, being a hero, but I know better. It's hell. You're forced into war zones, and if you leave or fail, the whole universe will hate you. But it's even worse to succeed, the whole universe will love you... for being a murderer. I'm no better than some lowlife murderer rotting in Zordoom. Ratchet, I'm sorry. If I hadn't failed, you wouldn't have had to become a 'hero' yourself."

Alcyone then stepped forward and hugged him.

Immediately the baby in Simon's hands vanished. His eyes shot open and he pushed her away.

"Go away." he said, tears still running down his cheeks.

"No." Alcyone said. "Let me help you. Let me comfort you. I'm your friend, I'd do anything for you."

"Just go away!" Simon yelled. "I don't need friends! I don't deserve them either!"

"That's not true! You're a kind, and wonderful person!"

Final Eclipse formed in Simon's hands and he attempted to attack Alcyone. The shocked Lombax barely had time to summon her staff to stop his attack. Simon kept attacking her and she kept blocking, though the sheer power at which he was ramming his sword against her staff was making her arms go numb.

Eventually Simon stopped, and let his sword fall to the ground. "Just... please... go. Go and forget about me."

Suddenly, Alcyone's staff allowed her to read Simon's mind, which was unusual considering how fortified his mind was, but in this emotional outburst, his mind was weaker.

" _Please, if there's a God, please let them all leave forever... before I hurt them._ " Simon thought, and Alcyone could see in his eyes that it was truly what he was thinking.

Alcyone started to cry and ran off, vanishing as she left the fictional realm created by the dreampods.

An hour later Simon was sitting in the kitchen, and he could feel a portal open and close. He knew that, when he'd check the destination of the portal later, the answer would be Vehena. They'd be okay, he told himself, he'd finished the house a little while ago with a sudden blast of energy.

He also knew that Ratchet and Angela were currently staying with their parents, and he'd make sure that when they, or anyone for that matter, tried to go to Custos, they wouldn't be able to find the planet.

Simon didn't even notice Photon running into the room. The cat jumped onto the table Simon was sitting at. "Why?" the cat said in his trademark gesture language.

"Because I don't want to hurt them." Simon mumbled.

"What are you talking about?" the cat gestured back.

"I never should've revealed myself to them again, it's better if I had stayed dead. By showing myself again I've put them all in unimaginable danger, especially with what I've just discovered. For their safety I must disappear before they all get hurt. And by that I mean killed in a horrible way."

Photon tilted his head.

"I'll explain." Simon said. "Remember that storm we had recently?"

The cat nodded.

"Well, I created this planet, thus I know everything about it. That storm should never have happened, it's impossible for something like that to form here. I've made sure of that. After the storm I've done some digging, this storm must've been caused by something... or someone. Guess what I found when I located the storm's origin?" Simon said as he showed Photon a vial containing a familiar black sludge.

The cat fell off the table.

"I know." Simon said as he stared out the window. "Do you get it now, why I had to push them all away?"

Photon nodded.

"You know... I actually thought of leaving you behind, too. But then I realized, without me, you wouldn't survive. You're a special being, Photon. I know that. I'm the only person who knows how to take care of you. Add to that... we'd both die of loneliness."

Simon sat down on the couch and Photon curled up in Simon's lap. "You know that we're gonna have a bad time, right?"

Photon nodded.

Simon sighed. "There's no way of talking _you_ into safety, is there? Well then. I've managed to detect a strange signal from the star Telvin 6. That's where we'll go tomorrow."

"Back into the storm."

* * *

 **I'm pretty certain that was the _last_ thing you people were expecting, huh? **

**Anyhow, I already have the first chapter of Epilogue 3 ready, and it's gonna be a... Ratchet & Clank / Sonic crossover! Thus expect it to appear there. If you haven't followed me yet, you don't _have_ to, I'll update the original Epilogue when I'll upload the start of part 3. Just keep an eye on the archive and you'll be notified.**

 **Oh, and it seems that nobody has yet figured out the secret hidden in the name 'Vehena'. I'm just gonna give you all a pretty big hint: it's an anagram. I wonder who figures it out first...**

 **Anyhow, I hope to see you all soon in Epilogue 3.**


	9. Epilogue 3 is finally starting!

**Hello everyone, TWG here. I just want to let you all know that the way overdue third installment in the Epilogue series is finally starting.**

 **Head over to the Ratchet & Clank / Sonic The Hedgehog crossover section to find it.**

 **I hope the long wait hasn't killed the hype - as this message proves, I'm still here, people! And I am going to finish this story, too!**

 **I hope you're all still here and that my long absence hasn't caused any of you to give up on this series. Either way, you all have had to wait for long enough for this story series to get going again, so I won't hold you all up any longer.**

 **Please forgive me for my long absence, and I hope you'll all enjoy Epilogue 3!**


End file.
